UC-NRLF 


B  4  010  aeo 


r  OF 
MA 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 

Bogardus     Brodt 


Photographing 
in  Old  England 


BY 

W.  I.  LINCOLN  ADAMS 


PHOTOGRAPHING   IN  OLD   ENGLAND: 

With  some  Snap  Shots  in  Scotland  and  Wales.  Illus- 
trated with  photographs  from  nature  by  the  author  and 
others.    4to,  cloth,  decorated,  full  gilt,  in  box         .        $2.50 


WOODLAND   AND    MLADOW: 

Out-of-Door  Papers,  written  on  a  New  Hampshire  farm. 
Illustrated.     Uniform  with  above         ....        $2.50 
Out  of  Print 


IN    NATURL'5    IMAGE: 

Chapters  on  Pictorial  Photography.     Richly  illustrated. 

Uniform  with  above $2.50 

Only  a  few  copies  left 


SUNLIGHT   AND   SHADOW: 

A  book  for  Photographers.  Illustrated  by  original  pho- 
tographs from  nature.  A  new  edition,  third  thousand. 
4lo.  cloth,  decorated,  full  gilt,  in  box         .        .        .        $2.50 


AMATEUR    PHOTOGRAPHY: 

A  Practical  Guide  for  the  Beginner.    Illustrated.    Royal 

8vo.    Paper  50  cents.    Cloth $1.00 

Out  of  Print 


Published    by 
THL  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 

33  Union  Square,  New  York 


PHOTOGRAPHING 
IN  OLD  ENGLAND 

With  5ome  5nap  5hots 
in   Scotland   and  Wales 


BY 

W.  I.   LINCOLN    ADAMS 

E.ditor  of  The  Photographic  Times 

Author  of  "Sunlight  and  Shadow" 

"In  Nature's  Image,"  etc.  etc. 


Illustrated   jrith   Photographs   from  Nature, 
hy  the  Author  and    Others 


NLW    YORK 
THL   BAKLR  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 

1910 


COP'lRIGHTLD   1910  BY 

THE.    BAKER   &    TAYLOR   COMPANY 

NF.W  YORK 


LOAN  STACK 

PRESS  OF  STYLES*  CASH,  NEW  YORK 


GIFT 


TO  MY  WIFL 

AND  DAUGHTER  ELIZABETH 

COMPANIONS   OF    MY  JOURNEYS 

IN   OLD    ENGLAND 


PRLFACL 


THE  {(jllowini;-  chapters  on  Photographing-  in  Old  England 
were  written  as  letters  to  the  readers  of  The  Photo- 
graphic  lliiics  during  the  summer  of  1909. 

They  were  illustrated  for  the  most  part,  by  photographs 
made  on  the  tri])s  which  they  described,  though  some  of  the  very 
best  pictures  are  the  product  of  other  cameras  other  than  my  own. 
I  am  i)articularl>-  indebted  to  ^Ir.  G.  P.  Abraham  of  Keswick,  for 
some  of  the  most  beautiful  illustrations,  of  which  mention  is 
made  in  the  chapter  which  they  embellish.  A  few  of  the  other 
photographs  were  obtained  in  the  local  shops  when  weather,  or 
other  conditions  prevented  me  from  using  my  own  camera. 

My  pictures  are  merely  what  are  rather  aptly  called  "snap- 
shots," and  are  not  put  forward  as  examples  of  excellence  in 
photography;  but,  for  the  most  part,  represent  only  the  average 
exposures  of  a  foreign  traveler,  often  of  necessity  made  with  con- 
siderable haste,  and  not  always  under  the  most  favorable  condi- 
tions of  light,  atmosphere,  or  even  of  the  point  of  view.  Some 
are  made  with  more  precision,  of  course,  and  occasionally  a  tripod 
was  used.  But  of  this  and  other  practical  considerations,  I  speak 
at  more  length  in  the  final  chapter  of  the  book. 

The  letters  themselves  were  written  without  literary  pre- 
tense, often  at  the  end  of  a  day  of  travel,  while  the  facts  which 
they  record  were  fresh  in  mind.  Their  author  has  no  illusions  as 
to  their  literary  value,  and  collected  them  for  book  publication  at 
the  request  of  a  number  of  his  magazine  readers,  in  order,  par- 
ticularly, to  preserve  the  pictures  in  a  more  convenient  and 
permanent  form. 

W.  I.  Lincoln  Adams. 

New  York  Crrv 
May,  19 10. 


CONTLNT5 


PREFACE     9 

FIRST  LETTER. 
I'^ROM  Windsor  to  Oxford,  on  tiik  Thames    .....  13 

SECOND  LETTER. 
In  Shakespeare's  Country  .........     23 

THIRD  LETTER. 
In  the  Land  of  the  Doones 35 

FOURTH  LETTER. 
Clovelly  .......     43 

FIFTH  LETTER. 
Motoring  Through  Wales .  51 

SIXTH  LETTER. 
Coaching  Through  the  English  Lake  Country       .         .         .         .61 

SEVENTH  LETTER. 
In    Scotland      ...........  yX) 

EIGHTH  LETTER. 
English   Cathedrals 83 

NINTH  LETTER. 
London 93 

IN  CONCLUSION. 
Some  Practical  Hints  and  Suggestions  for  Photographing  Abroad  103 

10 


L15T  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


IMagdalen  College  from  the  Cherw 

Bridge  at  Henley     ... 

Swans  on  the  Thames 

The  Old  Norman  Gate  in  Windsor 

Windsor  Castle  from  the  Thames 

Old  City  Wall  at  New  College,  Ox 

Cricket   Match   at   Oxford 

Ann  Hathaway's  Cottage 

Holy  Trinity   Church 

Warwick  Castle  from  the  Avon 

Stratford-on-Avon    ... 

Shakespeare's    Birthplace 

Lady   Warwick 

Interior  of  Shakespeare's  House 

The  Ruins  of  Kenilworth  Castle 

The  Center  of  England  . 

The  Shakespeare  Hostelrie  of  "Ye 

The  Doone  A'alley  . 

On  the  Clifif  Walk  . 

Lynton  and  Lynmouth 

The  Water  Slide.  Doone  \'alley 

Castle  Rock,  on  the  North  Coast  of 

A  Devonshire  Lane  . 

Ragged   Jack    .... 

High  Street,  Clovelly 

Clovelly     ..... 

The  Entrance  to  the  Town 

The  Rose   Cottage  ... 

A   Side   Stairway 

Snowdon  from  the  Pinnacles  (by  G 

Llanberis    Pass 

Conway    Castle 

Swallow    Fialls 

Welsh  Landscape  near  Chester 

The  Old  Castle  at  Hawarden  . 

Chester,  the  Old  Wall,  and  King  C 


ell,  Oxford 

Castle 
ford  . 


Five  Gables' 


Devon 


P.  Abraham) 


iiarles'  Tower 


PAGE 

2 

15 

15 

16 

17 
18 
21 
24 

25 
26 
27 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
36 

37 
38 

39 

40 

41 
42 

44 
46 

47 
48 

50 

52 
53 
54 
55 
56 
57 
58 


II 


A    Welsh    Cottage 

Coniston  Lake  from  Ueacon  Craig  (by  (J.  1'.  Abraham  i  . 
WVthburn    Giurch   ........ 

The  Home  of  the  Swans.  Wray  Castle.  Windermere  (  by  G.  P 

Rydal  ]Mount.  Wordsworth's  House   ( by  G.   P.  Abraham  ) 

Old  Mill  at  Ambleside  ( by  G.  P.  Abraham  ) 

"Brantwood."  Ruskin's  House  at  Coniston  ( by  G.  P.  .\braha 

Great  Gable — The  Xeedle  Arete  (  by  G.  P.  .\braham  (   . 

Yevvbarrow.    Wast    Water 

Derwent  Bridge   ( by  G.   P.  Abraham  i 

Ruins  of  Melrose  Abbey  . 

Abbots  ford        ..... 

Holyrood   Palace  and   Arthur's   Seat 

The  Trossachs,   "Wliere  Twines  tlie   Path 

Brig  o"  Forth  and  Crag  Mohr  . 

A  Highland  Cottage 

Oban  Harbor  by  Twilight 

Cottages  near  St.   lioswell's 

Ely  Cathedral.   West   Tower 

Canterbury   Cathedral 

York  Minster  from  the  City  \\"; 

Durham   Cathedral   . 

York   Minster   Towers 

Interior  of  Lincoln  Cathedral  . 

York  Minster  .... 

Central  Tower  and  Xorth  Transept.  Lincoln  Cathedral 

Chester  Cathedral  from  the  Churchyard 

Xelson  Monument.  Trafalgar  .^^uare 

Houses  of  Parliament 

In  Rotten  Row         .... 

Thames  Eirrfiankment.   h>>■.^^   HnntrertMrl    IlrMtre 

Westminster    Abbe_\ 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral 

London  Tower  and  Bridgre 

Loch  Katrine  and  Ben  \'enue 

Ann  Hathaway's  Gate 

Lynmouth 

Taken  while  it  Rained 

Melrose  .\bbey 

London  Cab<  . 


Abraham 


PAGE 

59 
62 

63 
<M 
65 
66 

67 

68 
69 
70 

74 
75 
76 
77 
78 

79 
80 
S2 
84 
85 

85 
86 

87 
88 

89 

90 

91 
94 
95 
95 
96 

97 
98 

99 
104 
105 
107 
109 
III 
1 12 


12 


From  \\lndsor  to  Oxford 
on  the  Thames 


F1R5T  LLTTLR 


FROM  WINDSOR  TO  OXFORD  ON  THL  THAML5 


Bridge  at  Henley. 


HE  entire  trip  from  London  to  Oxford,  on  the 
famous  river  Thames,  is  an  interesting  one, 
and  well  worth  the  two  days  required  for 
making  it :  hut  that  portion  of  the  historic 
old  stream  which  presents  the  most  pic- 
turesque subjects  for  the  camera,  lies  be- 
tween Windsor  and  Henley,  a  distance  of 
some  twenty-five  miles. 

We  therefore  proceeded  to  \\'indsor 
by  rail,  which  afiforded  us  ample  time,  be- 
fore the  little  river  steamer  left  in  the  afternoon  for  Henley,  to  see 
the  historic  old  castle,  with  its  more  modern  palace,  the  very  ex- 
tensive and  beautiful  park,  and  to  make  a  number  of  photographs 
there  while  the  light  was  right 
for  them. 

Parts  of  Windsor  castle 
are  exceedingly  old,  there  be- 
ing present  indications  of  the 
earth-works,  around  the  cen- 
tral "Round  Tower,"  or  cita- 
del, which  were  thrown  up  bv 
the  Romans  after  their  con- 
quest of  Britain  before  the 
Christian  Era.  William,  the 
Norman  Conqueror,  built  a  cas- 
tle at  \A'indsor  in  the  eleventh  ^'^^"^  °"  '^e  Thames, 
century,  but  the  oldest  part  of  the  present  castle,  which  is  still  largely 
used  in  connection  with  the  palace,  as  a  residence  by  the  reigning" 


15 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG  IX  OLD  EXGLAXD 

house  of  England,  representing-  additions  and  alterations  by  many 
monarchs,  dates  from  Edward  III.  The  modern  restoration  of  the 
palace  was  begun  by  George  I\\  and  finished  under  the  late  Oueen 
A^ictoria,  at  a  total  cost  of  nearly  five  million  dollars. 

I  chose  for  my  first  ])icturc  at  Windsor,  the  half  page  illustra- 
tion presented  herewith,  showing  the  old  Xorman  Gateway  (at  the 
left)  which  is  inside  the  old  castle  walls,  and  also  (  at  the  right )  part 


The  Old  Norman  Gate  in  Windsor  Castle. 


of  the  ancient  central  Tower,  with  remains  of  the  Roman  earth- 
works arotmd  its  base. 

The  picture  of  the  palace  exterior  which  is  perhaps  most  often 
seen  in  this  coimtry,  is  the  view  of  it  from  the  famous  "Long  Walk," 
from  any  part  of  >vhich  an  impressive  vista  is  presented  between 
the  magnificent  old  elm  trees.  It  can  be  distinctly  seen  from  the 
very  end  of  this  royal  walk,  three  miles  distant.  But  I  i)referred 
the  view  which  shows  the  entire  palace  and  castle,  from  the  banks 
of  the  Thames,  as  having  greater  pictorial  value.  Accordingly  I 
use  that  picture  to  illustrate  this  letter. 

i6 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG  IX  OLD  ENGLAXD 

The  picturesque  Towers  of  Eton  College,  across  the  river  from 
Windsor,  make  an  attractive  distant  picture;  while  in  the  extreme 
distance,  about  four  miles  away,  may  be  seen,  in  Stoke  Pogis,  the 
ancestral  home  of  William  Penn,  near  which  he  now  lies  buried, 
with  his  kindred. 

As  we  leave  Windsor  and  gently  steam  up  the  river,  we  pass 
Noble  country  villas,  on  either  bank,  with  highly  developed  grounds 
and  charming  gardens,  extending  to  the  very  water's  edge.  House- 
boats are  moored  to  the  banks,  in  cozy  sheltered  places,  in  which 
whole  families,  and,  indeed,  quite  large  house  parties,  are  made 
extremely  comfortable.  The  river  itself  is  very  gay,  and  full  of  life 
and  color,  on  a  fair  day  like  this,  with  "punts,"  barges,  shallops,  and 
motor  boats.  We  pass  lock  after  lock,  on  our  winding  journey,  all 
perfectly  kept,  and  brilliant  with  many-colored  flower  beds  and 
gardens. 

The  sun  shines  in  England,  even  in  summer,  on  an  average  of 
not  more  than  one  day  in  the  seven;  so  that  photographing,  when 


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Windsor  Castle  from  the  Thames. 


17 


PHOTOGRAPHING  IN  OLD  ENGLAND 


Old  City  Wall  at  New  College,  Oxford. 


skies  are  l^lue  and  clouds  are  fleecy  white,  wiUi  shadows  broad  and 
transparent,  is  not  often  possible  here.  Fortune  smiled  on  us  on 
this  occasion,  however,  and  I  was  able  to  make  a  number  of  pleasant 
snapshots  from  the  deck  of  our  little  steamer,  and  from  the  river 
banks,  when  we  stopped  at  the  locks.  The  initial  letter  illustration 
is  one  of  these,  showing-  the  bridge  at  Henley  near  which  is  the  boat 
house  of  the  famous  Leander  club.  Another  shows  a  group  of 
swans,  which  are  very  numerous  along  the  entire  length  of  the 
Thames. 

And  so  we  glide  on,  past  Cliveden,  that  noble  seat  which  ^Ir. 
\\'.  \\\  Astor  purchased  from  the  Duke  of  Westminster  and  pre- 
sented to  his  son.  It  stands  on  a  wooded  eminence  several  hundred 
feet  above  the  river  and  where  a  bend  in  the  stream  gives  a  view  of 


PHOTOGRAPHING  IN  OLD  ENGLAND 

it  many  miles  in  extent.  Then  we  pass  on  to  the  quaint  old  town  of 
A/Larlow  (pronounced  "Morrow")  "the  Mecca  of  fishermen,"  and 
where  dear  old  Izaak  Walton  himself  used  to  angle.  The  ex- 
cellent Inn  here  is  called,  after  his  classic,  "The  Complete  Angler." 

At  Henley  we  complete  our  trip  for  the  day,  but  there  was  still 
sufficient  light  on  these  long-  English  summer  afternoons  to  make 
the  pictures  referred  to  above,  which  illustrate  this  letter.  The 
bridge  here  is  a  most  pictorial  subject;  so,  too,  is  the  Red  Lion  Inn, 
where  we  lay  for  the  night.  As  it  happened  this  excellent  old  Inn 
was  full  on  this  occasion,  and  the  "Manageress,"  who  presides  over 
every  well-regulated  English  Inn,  had  a  bed  put  up  for  me  in  the 
private  sitting  room  on  the  second  floor.  This  was  the  room  which 
King  Charles  I  used  as  his  royal  bed  chamber,  when  he  visited 
Henley,  as  he  frequently  did ;  and  when  the  old  house  was  done  over 
in  1889  they  found  on  the  wall,  over  the  mantel  in  this  room,  an 
excellent  fresco  of  the  royal  arms,  which  was  made  in  1632. 

The  next  day  the  trip  was  resumed  to  Oxford ;  but  from  Henley 
on,  the  scenery  is  scarcel}^  so  interesting  and  picturesque  as  it  is 
below  that  pretty  town,  though  it  is  full  of  charm  the  entire  length 
of  the  river.  Our  first  outing  in  Oxford  was  on  the  classic  Cher- 
well.  The  sun  was  kind  for  only  a  few  minutes  at  a  time  on  this 
occasion,  but  it  stayed  out  long  enough  for  the  coveted  view  of 
Magdalen  (pronounced  "Maudlin")  College  Tower,  and  the  Bridge, 
from  the  river,  which  is  used  as  the  frontispiece  to  this  letter. 

The  next  day  was  not  so  favorable,  as  is  shown  by  the  nuich 
softer  picture  of  the  Old  City  Wall  at  New  College.  But  nothing- 
can  be  more  picturesque  in  nature,  than  this  fragment  of  the  old 
city  wall,  now  in  ruins,  and  overgrown  with  ivy  and  other  luxuriant 
English  vegetation.  Oxford  is  a  very  old  city,  dating  back  to  the 
nunnery  of  Saxon  St.  Frideswide,  which  was  probably  founded  as 
early  as  in  the  Eighth  Century.  The  University  is  supposed  to  have 
been  established  by  the  good  King  Alfred  in  972  and  the  town  was 
an  important  military  stronghold  during  the  Danish  wars  of  in- 
vasion, the  struggle  with  the  Normans,  and  the  various  civil  strifes 
which  occurred  in  England  at  a  later  period  of  its  interesting  his- 

19 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG  IX  OLD  ENGLAND 

tory.  The  name  is  a  corruption  of  Oxenford,  referring  to  the  fact 
that,  in  earlier,  ruder  times,  it  was  accessil)le  only  l)y  an  oxen  ford 
across  the  historic  river. 

Oxford  is  literally  teeming-  with  the  most  delightful  sul^jects 
for  a  hungry  camera.  1  made  a  great  many  exposures  while  here, 
though  space  will  ])ermit  of  showing  only  two  or  three  of  my  pic- 
tures. But  1  must  refer  to  the  one  I  made  of  a  cricket  match  l)e- 
tween  two  crack  university  teams,  for  the  game  seemed  so  tame 
and  slow  as  compared  with  our  own  national  sport  of  hasel)all  that 
I  could  not  hut  wonder  whv  it  should  lia\e  taken  so  strong  a  hold  on 
the  British  youth. 

For  instance,  the  hall  is  delivered  to  the  hatsman,  on  flic  hound, 
and  the  hat  itself  is  a  large,  Hat.  hlade-like  instrument,  with  which 
one  would  have  great  difticulty  ///  niissiiii/  the  hall,  as  it  seems  to 
the  on-looker.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  hall  is  rarely  missed,  and 
runs  are  made  on  foul  halls,  as  well  as  on  fair  ones.  As  a  con- 
sequence the  scores  are  enormous,  frequently  reaching  several  Jiun- 
dred  runs. 

The  l)all  is  thrown  from  the  field,  al^-o,  so  that  it  reaches  tlie 
player  on  the  hound:  and  to  an  outsider,  at  least,  there  appears  to 
he  no  fast,  snappy  plays  such  as  characterize  a  closely  contested 
basehall  match.  Cricket  seemed  a  very  lady-like  sort  of  sport  to 
me,  1  must  confess,  without  difficult  plays  and  sharply  contested 
points.  The  game  progresses  leisurely  throughout  an  afternoon, 
and,  at  five  o'clock,  all  the  players  repair  to  pavilion  or  refresh- 
ment tent  nearby,  and  have  tea.  Then  the  game  is  resumed  in  the 
same  leisurely  fashion  until  dark.  Often  two  or  three  days  are  re- 
quired to  conclude  a  match.  It  seemed  to  me  like  a  game  which 
belonged  rather  to  the  class  of  cro(|uet  than  as  an  athletic  sport  for 
}-oung  collegians. 

But  English  people  of  every  class  are  enthusiastic  over  cricket, 
and  have  been  so  for  many  generations.  It  is  undoubtedly  the 
national  athletic  sport  and  must  possess  attractions  undiscernible  by 
the  outsider.  The  players,  all  in  immaculate  white  flannels,  on  a 
closely  cropped  green  lawn,  at  least  make  a  very  gay  and  pretty  pic- 

20 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 

ture,  which,  however,  does  not  photograph  very  well,  particularly 
when  taken  from  the  distance  at  which  I  was  obliged  to  stand,  as  is 
shown  in  the  tail  ])iece  illustration  to  this  letter. 

I  was  loth  to  leave  Oxford,  for  I  realized  the  charm  of  the 
place  referred  to  by  Hawthorne  in  "Our  Old  Home,"  where  he  said: 
"The  world,  surely,  has  not  another  place  like  Oxford ;  it  is  a  despair 
to  see  such  a  place  and  ever  to  leave  it,  for  it  would  take  a  lifetime 
and  more  than  one,  to  comprehend  and  enjoy  it  satisfactorily." 


\L^ 

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fpk^ 

m 

gfi| 

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Cricket  Match  at  Oxford. 


21 


In  Shakespeare's  Country 


5LCOND  LLTTLR 


IN  SHAKLSPEARE-'S  COUNTRY 


Holy  Trinity  Church. 


V  FIRST  letter  in  this  series  was  dispatched 
from  the  university  town  of  Oxford,  from 
whence  we  proceeded  to  the  Royal  Spa  of 
Leamington,  not  that  w^e  desired  the  mineral 
waters  or  baths  of  that  attractive  place 
( though  we  took  l:ioth ! ) ,  but  because  it  is  so 
centrally  situated  for  short  excursions  to 
stately  old  Warwick  Castle,  the  picturesque 
ruins  of  Kenil worth,  Stratford-on-Avon  and 
the  country  thereabout,  made  famous  by  the 
immortal  bard  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 
It  is  but  a  short  trip  by  coach  from  Leamington  to  the  his- 
toric old  town  of  Warwick,  with  its  famous  castle,  which  is  one  of 
the  finest  and  most  picturesque  feudal  residences  in  all  England. 
Its  strange,  eventful  history  is  said  to  run  back  to  the  days  of 
Ethelfleda  daughter  of  the  Saxon  King  Alfred,  who  is  supposed  to 
have  commenced  its  construction — more  than  one  thousand  years 
ago.  The  quaint  old  towai  itself  is  even  older  than  that,  having 
been  originally  a  British  settlement  which  was  afterward  occupied 
by  the  Romans.  Many  of  the  old  buildings  retain  their  medi?eval 
appearance,  and  two  of  its  old  gates  are  still  standing.  Pictorial 
subjects  enough  here  for  the  camera,  and  to  spare. 

But  we  made  so  many  exposures  at  Kenilw^orth,  Stratford,  and 
elsewhere  in  this  picturesque  country,  that  I  have  selected  only  one 
of  the  AVarwick  views  for  reproduction  here.  It  is  the  picture  of 
the  castle  from  the  bridge  which  crosses  the  Avon  at  this  point. 
It  does  not  show  much  of  the  castle  itself,  but  the  river,  the  trees 
and  their  reflection  in  it,  combine  to  make  up  a  pleasing  composition 


25 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAXD 


Xvarwick  Casrle  from  the  Avon. 

as  it  seems  to  me.  But  the  most  beautiful  tliino-  about  \\^ar\vick 
is  the  Lady  \\'ar\vick!  A  su])erl)  ])icture  of  her  by  Carolus  Duran, 
and  another  even  more  beautiful,  1)\  nur  own  great  Sargent,  adorn 
the  castle  walls.     I  send  a  small  reproduction  of  one. 

Another  day  we  drove  to  Kenilworth  Castle,  which  is  still 
beautiful  in  its  ruins.  It  is  ]:)robably  the  finest  and  most  extensive 
baronial  ruin  in  the  country.  It  was  originall}-  founded  by  the 
chamberlain  of  King  Henry  First,  Geoffrey  de  Clinton,  about  1 120, 
and  was  the  scene  of  many  desperate  encounters  through  the  stormy 
period  of  English  history.  It  was  not  so  fortunate  as  Warwick 
Castle,  however,  in  being  held  by  a  "King  ^^laker"  at  one  time  of 
warfare,  and  by  a  friend  of  Cromwell  at  another;  for,  though  it 
once  held  out  for  half  a  year  against  a  determined  siege,  it  finally 
fell  to  the  Parliamentarians,  who  scattered  its  costly  collections 
and  demolished   its   stately   pile.     Here   it   was   that   the   Earl   of 


26 


5lratford-on-Avon. 


Shakespeare's  Birthplace. 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 


Lady  Warwick. 


Leicester  entertained  Queen  Elizabeth,  whose  chief  favorite  he  was, 
i"  1575'  ^'^-'^  described  so  fascinatingiy  l)y  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  his 
historical  romance  of  the  same  name.  I  give  one  picture  of  the  old 
ruins,  which  shows  nearly  all  of  the  castle  proper,  though  framed  in 
and  partly  covered  by  the  trees  and  bushes  surrounding  it. 

And  now  we  come  to  Stratford-on-Avon,  the  most  interesting, 
as  it  is  most  rich  in  pictorial  subjects,  of  all  the  ])laces  we  have  yet 
visited  with  the  camera.  The  first  illustration  of  Stratford  is  a 
general  view,  showing  Holy  Trinity  Church  in  the  distance,  where 
Shakespeare  lies  buried,  and  the  graceful  river  Avon  in  the  fore- 

28 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 


I  he  Kuiiis  ot   Kenilworth  Lastle. 

ground  flowing  l)y  it.  This  ])icturc  I  purchased  of  Mr.  W'ilham 
Stanton  at  "Ve  Five  Gal)les,""  and  it  seems  to  nie  a  ])articularly  ex- 
cellent one. 

The  frontispiece  is  rather  an  unusual  view  of  Ann  Ilathaway's 
cottage  across  the  fields,  in  Shottery.  Here  it  was  that  Master 
William  used  to  come  a-courting  in  "the  good  old  times.''  Most 
pictures  of  the  gentle  Ann's  cottage  which  1  have  seen  in  this  coun- 
try are  taken  from  the  road  in  front,  which  shows  rather  a  stiff 
English  hedge  that  makes  a  hard  line  across  the  foreground.  This 
pictin-e  is  taken  from  the  attractive  garden  within  the  hedge,  and 
gives  what  seems  to  me  a  more  ]:)ictorial  side  view  of  the  old 
thatched-roof  cottage. 

The  initial  letter  illustration  is  a  near  view  of  Holy  Trinity 
Church  taken  from  the  river,  without  a  tripod,  of  course.  And 
so  was  the  picture  of  Shakespeare's  birthplace  taken.     The  room 


;o 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


m^:.,:::. 


3^-:; 


'^«S»- 


The  Center  of  Lngland. 

in  which  the  poet  was  born  is  behind  the  second  window  from  the 
left,  on  the  second  floor,  ininiechately  over  the  doorway.  On  that 
window  are  inscribed  the  names  of  many  noted  men  and  poets,  in- 
cluding a  large  number  of  Americans.  There  are  still  to  be  seen 
the  signatures  of  Thomas  Carlyle,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Robert  Brown- 
ing, Washington  Irving,  and  many  others.  They  say  that  more 
than  one  quarter  of  the  thirty  thousand  pilgrims  who  annually  visit 
this  shrine,  are  our  fellow-countrymen. 

The  full  page  illustration  showing  the  interior  of  Shakespeare's 
library,  with  his  own  arm  chair  directly  opposite  the  beholder,  in 


31 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


^-i    ■■      fly 

The  Shakespeare  Hostelrie  of  "Ye  Five  Gables." 


the  center  of  the  picture,  is  from  a  ])hotc\2,'raph  which  I  purchased 
for  this  purpose;  as  I  had  not  the  i)roper  lens  and  outfit  for  this 
work,  even  if  they  would  have  allowed  me  to  photog-ra]^h  these.  The 
library  contains  many  old  books,  ^ISS.,  and  pictures,  besides  the 
furniture,  of  the  greatest  interest  to  Shakespearean  students  and 
lovers. 

There  are  at  least  three  places  in  Old  England  where  the  An- 
glo-Saxon, whether  of  the  English  or  the  American  branch  of  the 
race,  is  very  likely  to  experience  an  emotion,  when  he  stands  for 
the  first  time.  And  one  place  is  that  little  upi)er  chamber  of  the 
old  house  on  Henley  Street,  Stratford,  where  the  immortal  bard 
of  all  English-speaking  peoples  was  born,  in  1564.  Another 
place  is  the  historic  old  Abbey  in  \\'estminster,  London,  where 
so  many  of  the  noble  dead  of  our  race  lie  buried.  And  a  third 
place  is  the  little  island  in  the  River  Thames  where    the    barons 

32 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 

required  King  John  to  sign  the  Great  Charter  which  gave  to 
Anglo-Saxons  their  first  constitution.  We  passed  that  island 
on  the  river  journey  described  in  my  first  letter.  Of  West- 
minster I  shall  speak  in  a  latter  communication.  In  this  letter 
I  give  a  picture  of  Shakespeare's  birthplace,  which  to  me  is  the 
most  interesting  single  spot  to  visit  in  all  of  England.  I  wish  I 
might  give  a  picture  also  of  the  low  roof,  huml)le  interior;  but  the 
interior  of  the  poet's  library  will  have  to  suffice. 

The  remaining  picture,  not  before  mentioned,  is  of  the  hand- 
some old  oak  tree,  which  one  passes  on  the  way  from  Leamington 
to  Kenilworth,  and  said  to  stand  in  the  very  center  of  England.  I 
made  a  number  of  exposures  on  our  return  tri]:)s  from  Kenilworth 
to  Stratford,  particularly  of  Guy's  Cliff,  and  the  beautiful  old 
castle  there,  and  the  old  Saxon  Mill  near  by,  which  is  supposed  to 
be  the  oldest  in  all  England;  but  space  will  not  permit  of  more  il- 
lustrations to  this  letter.  We  are  now  going  to  the  picturesque 
country  of  North  Devon,  in  the  West  of  England,  where  I  shall 
visit  and  photograph  in  the  Land  of  the  Doones,  about  which  T 
shall  write  in  my  next  letter. 


In  the  Land  of  the  Doones 


THIRD  LLTTLR 


IN  THL    LAND  OF  THE,   DOONL5 


On  the  Cliff  Walk 


E    CAME    from     Stratford-on-Avon       ("In 

W  Shakespeare's   Country")    to     the    beautiful 

country  of  North  Devon,  in  the  west  of  Eng- 
land, bordering-  on  the  Bristol  Channel,  and 
here  we  have  seen  and  photographed  probably 
the  wildest,  grandest,  and  most  picturesque 
scenery  in  all  rural  England.  It  is  a  com- 
bination of  mountain  landscape,  rising  over 
a  thousand  feet  from  the  sea ;  rugged  coast 
line  with  majestic  "combes"  or  fiords  sug- 
gesting, and  equal  in  grandeur  to,  the  noted 
ones  of  Norway;  and  rolling  moors  and 
downs,  covered  with  heath,  and  gracefully 
undulating  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 

My  first  illustration  shows  the  little  seaport  town  of  Lyn- 
mouth  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  the  village  of  Lynton,  high  up  on 
the  mountain  itself.  Here  it  w^as  we  made  our  headquarters,  as 
it  is  a  particularly  beautiful  situation,  within  easy  walking  and 
driving  distance  of  the  places  of  greatest  attraction.  One  of  the 
world's  famous  walks  encircles  the  headland  in  this  picture,  cut  out 
of  sheer  cliff",  with  no  parapet,  or  retaining  wall,  and  winding  along 
the  mountain  side  hundreds  of  feet  above  the  sea.  M}^  initial  let- 
ter illustration  suggests,  but  does  not  adequately  portray  the  sub- 
limity of  the  view  from  these  dizzy  heights. 

Farther  along,  after  passing  through  the  wild  scenery  of  "The 
Valley  of  Rocks,"  the  driveway  itself  extends  out  upon  the  cliff  and 
ascends  the  mountain's  side  in  like  manner,  many  hiuidred  feet 
above  the  sea.  This  drive  has  been  compared  to  the  famous 
Axentrasse  along  the  mountain  edge,  at  Lake  Lucerne  in  Switzer- 
land, but  to  me  (who  have  photographed  on  both),  the  cliff"  drive 


37 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


"t  "i-'Y-.^iSsr"  '•;*i«ta^ 


Lynton  and  Lynmouth. 

from  Lynton  in  Xorth  Devon,  is  the  more  wonderful,  l)oth  as  an 
engineering  feat  in  road-ljuikling-,  and  in  the  grandeur  and  subhmity 
of  the  scenery  which  it  affords. 

In  North  Devon,  not  far  from  Lynton,  is  Exmoor,  the  Land  of 
the  Doones,  made  interesting  for  all  time  by  the  genius  of  Black- 
more  in  his  great  novel,  entitled  "Lorna  Doone."  But  apart  from 
the  literarv  and  historical  associations  of  Exmoor,  this  country  is 
well  worthy  a  visit  for  pictorial  reasons,  particularly  by  ])hotog- 
raphers.  Gainsborough,  the  famous  English  painter,  said  it  was 
"the  most  delightful  ])lace  for  a  landscape  painter  this  country 
could  boast." 

Badgeworthy  A'^alley  is  really  a  very  beautiful  glen,  in  fact  the 
most  interesting  in  all  Exmoor.  Erom  the  green  bc^ttoms  the  land 
rises  on  either  side  two  or  three  hundred  feet  high,  to  the  moors 
above.  It  is  in  fact  very  like  the  picture  which  Blackmore  draws  of 
the  Doone  Valley  and  much  more  like  his  description  than  the  out- 


38 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


The  Water  Slide,  Doone  Valley 


laws'  haunt  itself.  Indeed  one  must  be  prepared  for  some  disap- 
pointment in  visiting  this  glen  where  the  stalwart  John  Kidd  wooed 
the  fair  Lorna. 

Readers  of  the  romance  will  rememljer  how  John  went  poach- 
ing up  the  Badgeworthy  stream,  and  first  came  upon  the  Doone  \"al- 
ley.  After  wading  some  distance  he  reached  a  water  slide  coming  in 
from  the  right.  He  tells  the  story  himself  as  follows:  "I  stood 
at  the  foot  of  a  long  pale  slide  of  water,  coming  smoothly  to  me 
without  any  break  or  hindrance,  for  a  hundred  yards  or  more,  and 
fenced  on  either  side  with  clifif,  sheer  and  straight  and  shining. 
The  water  neither  ran  nor  fell,  nor  lea])ed  with  any  spouting,  but 
made  one  even  slope  of  it,  as  if  it  had  been  combed  or  planed  and 
looking  like  a  ])lank  of  deal  laid  down  a  deep  black  staircase.  How- 
ever, there  was  no  side  rail  nor  any  place  to  walk  upon,  only  the 
channel  a  fathom  wide,  and  the  perpendicular  walls  of  crag  shutting- 


out  the  evening." 


39 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EX  GLAND 


Castle  Rock,  on  the  North  Coast  of  Devon. 

There  was  a  big  black  pool  at  the  foot  of  this  slide,  and,  after 
being  nearly  swept  away  into  this  and  drowned  by  the  strength  of 
the  down  rush.  John  finally  managed  to  gain  the  top  of  the  slide, 
more  dead  than  alive,  and  almost  unconscious,  ^^'hen  he  recovered 
he  found  himself  in  a  deep,  almost  inaccessible  glen,  with  a  little 
maiden  tending  him.  This  little  maiden  was  Lorna  Doone,  who 
had  been  carried  away  by  the  outlaws  inhabiting  this  wild  glen,  and 
who  lived  here  by  preying  on  the  people  in  the  neighboring  country- 
side. 

How  John  grew  to  love  this  little  maiden,  how  she  showed  him 
her  bower  in  the  rocks,  and  the  secret  track  or  "warpath"  over  the 
walls  of  the  glen,  how  he  visited  her  again  and  again,  at  the  peril  of 
his  life,  how  he  finally  carried  her  ofif  when  the  outlaws  were  going 


40 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


A  Devonshire  Lane. 

to  marry  her  to  their  chief,  and  then  at  the  head  of  his  neighbors 
finally  captured  their  stronghold  and  exterminated  them,  the  reader 
must  find  in  the  magic  pages  of  Blackmore's  great  book.  We  are 
more  particularly  concerned  with  the  pictures  of  the  place  as  they 
appear  in  nature  at  present. 

The  illustration  of  the  Badgeworthy  Valley  is  a  fairly  satis- 
factory one ;  but  the  water  slide  will  be  seen  to  scarcely  come  up  to 
Blackmore's  rather  idealized  description  of  it  in  his  romance.  The 
foundations  of  the  Doone's  huts  may  still  be  seen  in  the  Doone 
Valley,  though  they  do  not  make  a  particularly  attractive  picture. 
Descendants  of  John  Kidd  are  actually  living  in  Exmoor  at  present; 
but  the  Doones  seem  to  have  been  literally  exterminated;  though 
the  traditions  of  their  terrible  strength  and  cruelty  still  linger  in 
the  neighborhood,  notwithstanding  that  it  was  more  than  two  hun- 
dred years  ago  that  these  bandits  lived  and  committed  their  re- 
volting crimes  here. 


41 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 

Another  most  picturesque  place  in  this  country  is  the  Uttle  sea- 
port town  of  Clovelly,  with  its  central  street  rising  from  the  sea 
hy  a  series  of  steps,  almost  like  a  stairway.  This  is  a  famous  place 
for  artists,  and  the  picture  of  High  street  has  heen  reproduced  on 
canvas  and  by  lens  and  camera  a  great  many  times.  The  half-page 
picture  of  "A  Devonshire  Lane"  is  by  some  photographer  unknown 
to  me,  as  I  purchased  it  in  a  shop.  My  picture  of  the  same  cozy 
cottage  lacks  the  sheep,  and  so  misses  the  finishing  touch  in  the  fore- 
ground. The  tail  piece  was  made  l\v  me  on  the  clitf  walk  near 
Lynton,  and  shows  "Ragged  Jack,"  a  picturesque  old  landmark  on 
the  North  Coast  of  Devon. 

In  a  few  days  we  shall  cross  the  Bristol  Channel,  to  Cardiff, 
in  Wales,  and  then  ])roceed  by  rail  and  coach  through  that  country 
of  beautiful  scenery;  but  l)efore  I  describe  our  journey  through 
Wales,  I  want  to  devote  a  little  more  space  to  the  unicjue  old  fishing 
village  of  Clovelly.  It  is  so  particularly  rich  in  pictures,  so  full  of 
color  and  of  character,  that  I  desire  to  devote  one  letter  to  this 
subject  alone.  It  is,  moreover,  the  country  made  interesting  by 
Charles  Kingsley  in  "Westward  Ho,"  and  he  refers  to  it  particularly 
in  his  great  book. 


Clovelly 


High  Street,  Clovelly. 


FOURTH  LLTTLR 


CLOVLLLY 


N  MY  letter  from  "The  Land  of  the  Doones," 
I  made  but  a  brief  reference  to  Clovelly,  as 
space  did  not  permit  of  further  description 
there  though  the  sul)ject  itself  well  deserved 
more  extended  attention. 

Clovell}^  is  probably  the  most  pic- 
turesque village  of  Devon,  if  not  of  all  rural 
England,  and  I  desire  to  devote  an  entire 
chapter  to  it,  as  mentioned  in  my  preceding 
letter.  It  is  decidedly  the  quaintest  and 
most  unusual  little  village  which  I  have  yet 
seen  or  photographed  in  any  of  my  journeys 
and  is  a  veritable  paradise  for  artists  and 
photographers. 
This  little  fishing  town  lies  in  a  narrow  and  richly  wooded 
valley  or  "combe,"  as  they  call  it  here,  high  above  the  sea,  near  the 
mouth  of  Bristol  Channel,  and  it  descends  al^ruptly  to  the  water's 
edge  along  a  single  narrow  street,  or  rather  a  main  stairway  of 
stones,  with  perhaps  a  hundred  cottages  and  cabins  climbing  on 
each  side  of  the  combe  as  far  as  the  narrow  space  allows. 

The  cozy  little  houses  themselves,  each  standing  on  a  higher, 
or  a  lower,  level  than  its  neighbor,  are  all  neatly  whitewashed,  with 
gray-green  doors  and  lattices,  and  are  almost  literally  covered  with 
flowering  vines  and  brightly  colored  blossoms.  The  effect  of  the 
little  village,  as  a  whole,  is  strikingly  unusual,  foreign-like,  and 
picturesque.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  Ije  here  while  the  roses 
were  in  bloom,  and  I  can  never  forget  the  charm  or  the  l)eauty  of 
the  place.  We  came  to  Clovelly  intending  to  spend  the  day,  as  most 
tourists  do,  but  stayed  on  and  on  under  the  quaint  spell  of  the  little 


45 


PHOrOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 


C  l.i\<'IK. 

hamlet.  No  wonder  that  Charles  Kingsley  loved  his  Clovellv,  or 
that  one  lady,  whose  name  I  saw  in  the  guest  book  of  our  little  cot- 
tage, had  returned  to  it  every  stimmer  for  twentv-one  years. 

I  never  longed  so  for  the  al)ility  to  work  in  color  as  I  did  at 
Clovelly.  The  June  roses — pink,  yellow,  and  white, — were  in  full 
bloom,  and  the  little  village  was  literally  ablaze  with  color.  My 
poor  little  lilack  and  white  photographs  give  but  a  feeble  idea  of  the 
charm  of  the  place,  particularly  at  this  time;  but  small  as  thev  are 
I  have  selected  a  few  of  them  to  illustrate  this  letter. 

The  frontispiece  picture  to  this  letter  shows  the  main,  or  High, 
street  of  the  village  and  gives  some  idea  of  the  little  place  as  a 
whole.  This  particular  photograph  is  so  much  better  than  the  one 
I  made  of  the  same  subject  that  I  select  it  for  reproduction  in 
preference  to  my  own.  The  donkeys  had  been  placed  just  right 
by  my  predecessor!  One  of  the  best  views,  however,  is  looking 
down  this  main  stairway,  to  the  sea,  which,  far  below,  serves  with 
the  sky  as  a  background  to  the  scene.  An  even  better  picture  is  the 
one  from  the  quay,  or  best  of  all,  from  the  harbor  (if  the  sea  is 


46 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


The  Entrance  to  the  Town. 

calm)  which  shows  the  wharf  in  the  foreground  (or  rather  in  the 
forewater)  and  the  village  high  above.  The  first  illustration  which 
I  show  was  made  from  the  pier  as  the  sea  was  too  rough  to  photo- 
graph it  from  the  water. 

The  foundations  of  the  cottages  on  the  water-front  at  this, 
the  lower  end  of  the  hamlet,  are  hewn  out  of  the  living  rock.  This 
part  of  the  town  is  ver}^  old,  its  name  appearing  in  Domesday,  and 
some  authorities  assert  that  there  was  a  Roman  station  here  even 
earlier  than  that.  It  is  the  only  harbor  in  Bideford  Bay,  west  of 
the  Taw,  and  has  been  an  important  fishing  place  for  a  ver}^  long 
time. 

The  oldest  inhabitant,  who  says  he  is  ninety-four  years  of  age 
(and  he  certainly  looks  it),  claims  that  the  present  village  is  seven 
hundred  years  old.  He  has  many  wonderful  tales  to  relate  of  his 
hairbreadth  escapes  by  sea  and  land,  and  of  those  who  did  not 
escape.  Every  year  many  brave  fishermen  and  sailors  lose  their 
lives  on  this  perilous  coast.  My  photograph  of  "The  Entrance  to 
the  Town,"  shows  this  interesting  old  seaman  in  his  favorite  resting 
place  at  the  foot  of  the  main  stairway,  near  the  Red  Lion  Inn. 

47 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 


The  Rose  Cottage. 

The  old  man  seemed  to  take  "Teat  pride  in  the  fact  that  he 
never  went  to  school,  "excei)t,"  as  he  said,  "to  Charles  Kingsley's 
Sunday  School."  Kingsley  was  rector  of  Clovelly  parish  at  one 
time  and  a  married  daughter  of  his  lives  here  in  summer  at  the 
present  time.  He  told  me,  also,  but  somewhat  confidentially,  to  be 
sure,  that  he  personally  thought  "Mr.  Kingsley  loved  riding,  sailing, 
hunting,  and  fishing,  better  than  he  loved  preaehiiig,"  but  that  he 
did  all  equally  well.  "Oh,  you  should  have  seen  him  jump  a  fence," 
he  exclaimed  in  his  enthusiasm,  as  his  memory  recalled  the  old 
times,  "he  never  opened  a  gate  or  climbed  a  wall,  but  always  vaulted 
or  jumped  over  them." 

Mr.  Kingsley  himself  speaks  as  follows  of  Clovelly  in  his  great 
book  of  "Westward  Ho": 

"And  even  such  are  those  delightful  glens,  which  cut  the  high 
table-land  of  the  confines  of  Devon  and  Cornwall,  and  opening  each 
through  its  gorges  of  down  and  rock,  towards  the  boundless  W^est- 


48 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    RXGLAXD 

ern  Ocean.  Each  is  like  the  other,  and  each  is  Hke  no  other  English 
scenery.  Each  has  its  upright  walls,  inland  of  rich  oak-wood, 
nearer  the  seas  of  dark  furze,  then  of  smooth  turf,  then  of  weird, 
black  cliffs  which  range  out  right  and  left  far  into  the  deep  sea,  in 
castles,  spires,  and  wings  of  jagged  iron-stone.  Each  has  its  nar- 
row strip  of  fertile  meadow,  its  crystal  trout  stream  winding  across 
and  across  from  one  hill-foot  to  the  other,  its  gray  stone  mill,  with 
water  sparkling  and  humming  round  the  dripping  wheel ;  its  dark 
rock  pools  above  the  tide  mark,  w'here  the  salmon-trout  gather  in 
from  their  Atlantic  wanderings  after  each  autumn  flood;  its  ridge 
of  blown  sand,  bright  with  golden  trefoil  and  crimson  lady's  finger; 
its  gray  bank  of  polished  pebbles  down  which  the  stream  rattles 
towards  the  sea  below.  Each  has  its  jagged  shark-tooth  rock,  which 
paves  the  cove  from  side  to  side,  streaked  with  here  and  there  a 
pink  line  of  shell  sand,  and  laced  with  white  foam  from  the  eternal 
surge,  stretching  in  parallel  lines  out  to  the  westward,  in  strata  set 
upright  on  edge,  or  tilted  towards  each  other  at  strange  angles  by 
primeval  earthquakes; — such  is  the  'Mouth' — as  those  coves  are 
called;  and  such  the  jaw  of  teeth  which  they  display,  one  rasp  of 
which  would  grind  abroad  the  timbers  of  the  stoutest  ship.  To 
landw^ard,  all  richness,  softness,  and  peace;  to  seaward,  a  waste 
and  howling  wilderness,  of  rock  and  roller,  barren  to  the  fisherman, 
and  hopeless  to  the  ship- wrecked  mariner." 

The  initial  letter  illustration  shows  where  we  lived  at  Clovelly. 
The  cozy  little  cottage  is  really  a  converted  barn,  the  kitchen  being 
where  the  stable  formerly  was,  and  our  rooms  w^ere  in  the  hay  loft 
overhead.  From  King  Charles'  royal  bed-chamber  at  Henley,  to 
the  hay  loft  of  a  barn  in  Clovelly,  is  quite  a  descent,  to  be  sure;  but 
our  windows  here  looked  out  over  the  sea,  and  the  place  was  pro- 
fusely overgrown  wath  rose  vines  and  fuchsias,  so  that  it  was  a 
veritable  flowery  bower,  as  cozy  and  comfortable  a  nest  as  one's 
heart  could  desire  for  dreamless  sleep  after  a  long  day  with  the 
camera  on  sea  and  land. 

Another  picture  shows  the  Rose  Cottage  where  the  old  seaman 
lived,  with  his  bench  before  it  in  the  sun  and  my  daughter  standing 

49 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 


near  it;  while  the  last  ilkistration  o-ives  a  o-Hmpse  of  a  side  stairway, 
branchino-  off  from  the  main  one.  I  made  many  snapshots  while 
here,  on  this  main  stairway  and  the  "Back  stairs,"  on  the  qttay  of 
the  harbor,  and  on  the  sea ;  but  1  have  already  occupied  all  the  space 
I  should  take  for  one  of  these  letters.  Next  month  we  are  going-  to 
\\'ales,  where  we  shall  make  a  tour  en-auto  through  this  wild  and 
picturesque  country  of  the  north,  and  from  there,  accordingly,  I 
shall  despatch  my  next  letter. 


A  5ide  5tairway. 


Motoring  in  Wales 


FIFTH   LLTTLR 


MOTORING    IN    WALLS 


T  IS  only  a  short  trip  by  steamer 
across  the  Bristol  Channel,  from  Lyn- 
moutli,  in  Xorth  Devon,  to  the  city  of 
Cardiff,  in  Wales.  Here  excellent 
railroad  connections  can  be  made  for 
Chester,  which  lies  on  the  border  be- 
tween England  and  North  Wales, 
where  the  wnldest  and  most  pictur- 
Lianberis  Pass.  escjuc  country  is  to  bc  scen. 

A  convenient  and  comfortable  way  to  tour  in  Wales  is  by 
motor,  and  Chester  is  the  most  accessible  starting  point.  Ac- 
cordingly w^e  procured  an  automobile  there  and  made  an  early  start 
for  the  border.  We  passed  the  extensive  park  of  Eton  Hall,  which 
is  one  of  the  seats  of  the  wealthy  young  Duke  of  Westminster, 
crossed  the  river  Dee,  and  we  w^ere  soon  in  Whales,  touring  along 
excellent  country  roads  which  abound  in  picturesque  scenery  on 
either  hand. 

Our  first  stop  was  at  Bala,  w^here  we  stayed  for  lunch ;  then 
a  drive  around  the  lovely  lake  at  Bala,  and  we  proceed  on  our  way, 
over  a  wald  mountain  pass,  shrouded  in  mist,  to  the  little  Welsh  vil- 
lage of  Festiniog.  Here  another  stop  was  made  (to  repair  a 
punctured  tire),  and  we  arrived  at  the  uni(|ue  mountain  resort  of 
Bettws-y-Coed  (don't  try  to  pronounce  it!)  where  we  put  up  for 
the  night. 

Referring  to  the  pronunciation  of  \\'e]sh  names  it  may  be  in- 
teresting to  know  that  they  are  spoken  not  at  all  as  they  are  spelled, 
difficult  as  it  would  be  to  do  that!  For  instance,  w4ien  a  word 
begins  with  two  Fs,  as  often  happens,  it  is  i)ronounced  as  if  spelled 
with  a  fhl,  e.  g.  Llangollen  is  spoken  as  if  spelled  Thlajigofhlcn, 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 


Conu.iv    (^u^lle. 

Llandudno  is  spoken  TJilandidiio,  the  ;/  being  pronounced  as  /;  and 
Bettws-y-Coed  (which  means  The  Chapel  in  the  \\'oods),  is  pro- 
nounced as  if  spelled  Bcttoosycocd. 

The  next  day  we  drove  along'  the  piclures(|ue  Swallow  River, 
past  the  Falls,  a  pictin-e  of  which  T  made  in  passing,  and  on  to  the 
famous  Llanberis  Pass,  at  the  highest  point  of  which  I  made  an- 
other picture  which  is  shown  in  the  initial  letter  illustration. 

We  nuist  pause  at  this  height, — Gorphwysfa,  they  call  it  in 
Welsh — the  resting-place.  On  either  side  of  the  road  are  great 
jagged  masses  of  rock  that  have  fallen  in  bygone  times  from  the 
hills  above.  Away  in  the  rear  you  can  trace  the  long  valley,  with 
its  road  winding  around  the  hillside,  going  towards  Beddgelert. 
That  road  offers  one  of  the  finest  motoring  or  coaching  drives  in 
the  British  Islands.     To  the  left  ahead.   Snowdon,  with  its  triple 


54 


PHOrOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAXD 


5wallow  Falls. 


head,  towers  up.     To  tlie  right    is    the    conmian.liit?    heigln    of 
Glyder-fawr,  w„hi„  less  ,l,an  three  In.ndred  feet  of  ecntal  l,e1o-h,  to 
Snowdon  uself.     Beyond  are  otlier  l,ins  of  everv  shipe  and     ze 
.ntp,-ess,ve,   fantastic,  g-rotesc,ue.     Straight   ahead   to     he     fde  of 

Uyn  Peris"     "'  ""  ""  "^'••'""^"'  '"'"  '^^^^'  ^'y"   P^darn  at°d 


55 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


Welsh  Landscape  near  Chester. 

But  how  is  one  to  describe  Snowdon?  I  mii^ht  quote  Tal- 
fourd's  pen-picture:  "Of  the  four  British  mountains  which  pos- 
sess the  most  powerful  influence  ui^on  the  imagination,  Snowdon, 
Cader-Idris,  HelvellMi,  and  Ben  Nevis,  each  has  its  own  attributes. 
*  *  ''■  Of  these  mountains  Snowdon  forms  beyond  comparison 
the  noblest  aggregate,  because,  except  on  the  side  opposite  Car- 
narvon, its  upper  portion  is  all  mighty  framework,  a  top  uplifted 
on  vast  buttresses,  disdaining  the  round  lumpish  earth,  spreading 
out  skeleton  arms  towards  heaven,  and  embracing  on  each  side  huge 
hollows,  made  more  awful  l)y  the  red  tints  of  the  copper  ore  which 
deepens  among  the  shadows  and  gleams  through  the  scanty  herbage 
of  its  loveliest  pathways." 

As  we  approach  this  majestic  mountain,  we  find  it  wreathed  in 
mist  and  crowned  with  clouds,  as  it  usually  is,  so  photographing  w^as 
out  of  the  question.  The  full  page  picture  of  Snowdon  which 
illustrates  this  letter,  as  frontis])iece,  I  obtained  at  a  shop  in  Wales. 
It  is  an  excellent  print,  by  G.  P.  Abraham,  showing  the  summit  from 
the  Pinnacles. 


56 


PHOTOGRAPhJIXG    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


The  Oicj  C  astle  at  Hawarden. 

We  now  pursue  our  way  down  Llanberis  Pass  which  has 
justly  been  called  the  "Chamounix  of  Wales,"  for  it  reveals  the 
grandest  scenery  in  the  principality.  For  miles  you  pass  between 
the  loftiest  mountains  in  Wales.  For  miles  you  do  not  pass  a  single 
house,  or  see  a  human  being.  Sturdy  Welsh  sheep  alone  clamber 
amid  the  boulders  and  the  crag^s.  There  is  a  grand  solemnity 
brooding  over  the  place,  and  one  receives  here  a  vivid  impression 
of  the  sublimity  of  Nature,  untouched  and  untouchable,  a  sense  of 
the  infinite  which  swallows  up  one's  petty  humanity  in  an  overpower- 
ing sentiment  of  awe.  Contemplating  Nature  in  this  mood  one  may 
well  repeat  the  old  question,  "What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mind- 
ful of  him,  or  the  son  of  man     *     *     *      p" 

From  Llanberis  we  motored  to  Carnarvon,  where  the  grand 
old  castle  which  Edward  I  built  in  1283,  still  stands,  majestic  in  its 
partial  ruin. 

Here  Edward  II,  the  first  Saxon  Prince  of  Wales,  was  born, 


57 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 


Chester,  the  Old  Wall,  and  King  Charles'  Tower. 

and  he  i^reall}-  strengthened  and  enlarged  the  old  stronghold  after 
he  ])ecanie  king. 

But  it  was  the  ])ietnres(|ue  rnins  of  Conway  castle  which  most 
charmed  tis.  lliis  castle  was  likewise  huilt  hy  Edward  1,  a  little 
later  than  Carnarvon,  and  is  considered  the  master  structure  of 
his  arcliitect,  Henry  de  Ehreton,  who  also  designed  Carnarvon, 
Beaumaris,  and  other  castles  in  Wales  and  England.  Edward  was 
himself  beleaguered  here  by  the  Welsh,  and  was  hard  put  to  it,  too, 
for  a  time,  for  the  river  Conw^ay  was  so  swollen  that  his  English 
reinforcements  could  not  cross  over.  But,  as  an  old  narrative  has 
it,  "the  foaming  flood  subsided,"  and  Edward  was  succored  by  his 
Englishmen.  Hawthorne  says  in  his  English  notes:  "Nothing 
can  ever  have  been  so  perfect  in  its  own  style,  and  for  its  own  pur- 
poses, w^ien  it  was  first  built ;  and  now  nothing  else  can  be  so  per- 
fect as  a  picture  of  ivy-grown  peaceful  ruin."  Our  picture  of  Con- 
way Castle  is  by  Chidley,  of  Chester,  successor  to  our  old  friend, 
G.  Watmough  Webster,  of  that  ancient  city.     This  picture  is  un- 


58 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 

avoi(lal3ly  marred  l)y  the  modern  suspension  Ijridge  which  crosses 
the  Conway  River  at  this  ])lace.  It  cannot  he  avoided,  nor  can  it  l)e 
eliminated,  Imt  it  is  ohviously  out  of  keeping  with  the  anti([uity  of 
the  castle  ruins. 

We  motor  on  to  Llandudno,  perhaps  the  most  fashionahle 
watering-  place  of  \\'ales,  where  we  make  a  brief  stop.  And  then 
we  pass  out  of  the  mountainous  scenery  entirely  and  tour  along- 
through  smiling  fields  and  past  pleasant  home-like  cottages.  The 
tail  piece  to  this  letter  is  a  fair  illustration  of  the  latter,  and  the 
little  landscape  near  Chester,  which  we  are  now  approaching,  is 
typical  of  the  country  near  that  old  city. 

But  before  we  enter  Chester  again  w^e  visit  Hawarden  (pro- 
nounced Harden),  which  w^as  the  seat  of  Gladstone,  in  Wales,  and  is 
now  in  possession  of  his  son.  The  house  is  modern  and  so  lacks 
the  picturescjue  qualities  of  the  old  castle,  which  is  in  ruins,  over- 
grown with  ivy,  and  rising  in  dignified  desolation  from  a  bank  of 
luxuriant  herbage. 

Chester  itself,  though  not  in  Wales,  is  too  interesting  and 
picturesque  a  city  to  pass  over  without  a  mention  or  an  illustration. 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 

As  a  matter  of  fact  I  made  many  pictures  here,  of  its  fine  old 
cathedral  and  the  ruined  Abhey  adjacent;  of  its  encircling-  wall, 
with  the  ruins  of  its  Roman  earth  works  and  fortifications;  of  its 
quaint  old  English  shops,  and  the  "Rows"  above  them;  but  we  have 
space  here  for  one  only,  and  I  have  selected  for  the  purpose  a  section 
of  the  old  wall  near  King  Charles'  Tower.  Here  that  ill-fated 
ruler  is  said  to  have  stood  and  witnessed  the  defeat  of  his  royal 
troops  on  Rowton  Moor  in  i()45.  A  picture  of  the  cathedral 
is  included  in  another  letter  which  1  write  about  English 
Cathedrals,  a  little  later.  But  before  we  visit  them  we  expect  to 
make  a  coaching  trij)  through  the  English  Lake  country  en  route  to 
Scotland,  and  in  my  next  letter  I  shall  describe  that  interesting  trip. 


60 


Coaching  Through  the  English 
Lake  Country 


K 


u 


51XTH   LLTTLR 


COACHING   THROUGH    THE,    LNGLI5H    LAKL    COUNTRY 


^RO]\I  Chester  we  journeyed  by  rail  to 
Windermere,  which  is  the  largest 
and,  in  some  respects,  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  all  the  English  Lakes.  Here 
we  si)ent  the  night,  and  the  next 
mornino",  before  our  coach  started 
from  the  hotel,  I  made  the  acc[uaint- 
ance  of  a  fine  type  of  the  old  school 
landscape  photographer  from  whom 
I  obtained  some  excellent  prints  of 
wythburn  Church.  Windermcrc  and  other  lakes.   It  was 

well-  I  did  so,  for  the  rain  which  usually  falls,  some  time  at  least, 
during  every  day  in  English  Lakeland,  made  no  exception  of  this 

day,  and  I  was  unable  to  make  a  single  exposure  here.     Mr.  

was  a  friend  of  John  Ruskin,  in  his  later  years,  and  had  some  in- 
teresting intimate  photographs  of  the  famous  author,  inscribed  to 
him  in  autograph. 

At  Keswick,  on  Derwentwater,  I  w-as  fortunate  enough  to  fall 
in  with  Mr.  G.  P.  Abraham,  the  distinguished  English  landscape 
photographer,  who  has  made  a  specialty  of  Lake  and  Mountain  sce- 
nery. From  Mr.  Abraham  I  obtained  the  ph(  )tographs  illustrating  this 
letter  which  are  credited  to  him,  and  many  courtesies  as  w^ll,  which 
I  gratefully  acknowledge. 

The  English  Lake  Country,  beautiful  as  it  certainly  is,  perhaps 
did  not  quite  fulfil  our  anticipations  of  it  from  the  pictorial  point  of 
view.  Its  charm  is  so  largely  due  to  the  poetic  and  literary  asso- 
ciations of  the  great  authors  who  have  made  this  country  their 
home,  that  the  American  traveler  is  likely  to  feel  some  slight  dis- 


?i^ 


-^^^- 


^'*i- 


te^aai'iA-AjiiHHi^r : 


1 

,'i 
I 

^ 

1 

■h^ri^H 

n 

Kw'^ ' 

f  ™ 

nrtft 

*K 

u 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


Copyrighted  by 


Rydal  Mount,  Wordsworth's  House.  G.  P.  Abraham,  Photo.,  Keswick. 


appointment  that  the  Lakes  and  Fells  are  not  more  impressive  in 
themselves. 

The  country  undoubtedly  has  a  certain  mild  and  pleasant 
beauty  of  its  own,  apart  from  the  glamor  of  romance  and  poetry 
which  English  men  of  genius  have  shed  upon  this  land ;  but  the  lakes 
seem  rather  tame  in  their  aspect,  and  scarcely  to  justify  in  them- 
selves the  rhapsodies  of  praise  which  the  poets  have  bestowed  upon 
them,  or  the  reputation  which  they  have  enjoyed  for  great  pictur- 
esqueness.  If  it  were  possible  to  remove  from  the  landscape  the 
literary  associations  which  are  so  inextricably  interwoven  through- 
out this  pleasant  countryside,  I  apprehend  that  these  lakes  and  hills 
would  be  but  mildly  enjoyed  for  the  scenery  which  they  afford. 

It  is,  however,  impossible  not  to  feel  the  charm  of  association 
with  which  the  gentle  Wordsworth  and  the  philosophic  Ruskin  have 
imbued  this  place,  not  to  mention  such  well  known  and  loved  writers 
as  De  Quincey  and  Coleridge,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Tennyson,  Robert 
Southey,  and  Harriet  Martineau. 

65 


Copyrighted  by 


Old   Mill  at  Ambleside.  <^-  P-  Abraham,  Photo.,  Keswick. 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


Coi)\  riijIUed  b^ 


"  BrdntwoocJ,"  Ruskin"s  House  at  Coniiton. 


I'.      \|>MhaIll. 

Photo.,  Keswick. 


Rydal  Mount,  on  Rydal  Water,  where  lived  "The  Laureate  of 
the  Fells,"  as  \\'ordsworth  has  been  called/has  a  charm  and  interest 
all  its  own  from  the  fact  of  his  long-  residence  there.  But  Rydal 
Water  itself  would  scarcely  be  called  a  lake  in  this  country,  so  small 
and  inconspicuous  is  it.  The  exquisite  beauty  of  "The  Clouds"  and 
"The  Mountain  Echo,"  is  bound  to  invest  wath  charm,  however,  the 
spot  where  such  noble  poems  were  composed.  Thus  is  the  poet 
described  bv  one  who  visited  him  in  this  house  on  Rydal  Water: 

"He  took  me  by  the  hand  in  a  way  that  did  me  good.  There 
was  welcome  in  his  words  and  looks,  as  well  as  in  the  shake  of  his 
hand,  and  in  less  than  five  minutes  he  was  taking  me  round  his  fairy 
dwelling-place  and  pointing  out  to  me  the  most  striking  objects  of 
the  beautiful  and  glowing  scenes  around.  He  was  rather  tall  and 
thin,  with  a  countenance  somewhat  pale,  and  more  thoughtful  than 
joyous.     Simple  and  courteous  in  his  demeanor,  and  frank  in  his 

67 


I 


CopyriShted  by 


Great  Gable— The  Needle  Arete.      G.  P.  Abraham.  Photo..  Keswick. 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


Yewbarrow,  Wast  Water. 

remarks,  he  made  me  feel  at  ease.  *  ^  *  'AH  might  find  these 
sechuled  temples  of  beauty,  but  all  will  not  give  themselves  the 
trouble  to  seek  them,'  he  said." 

The  same  is  true  of  Brantwood,  on  Lake  Coniston,  where 
Ruskin  lived,  as  well  as  the  other  haunts  and  places  made  famous 
in  English  Lakeland  by  England's  men  of  letters.  There  are 
fifteen  lakes  in  all,  though  all  are  not  well  known  or  often  visited. 

We  coached  from  Windermere,  in  the  morning,  past  Grasmere 
and  Rydal  Water  to  Derwent  Water;  in  the  afternoon  driving 
around  the  latter  lake  to  Keswick,  where  we  later  took  train  for  the 
Scottish  Border.  We  visited  the  falls  of  Lodore,  celebrated  by 
Southey's  rather  jingling  rhymes,  and  made  several  pleasant  side 
excursions,  which,  however,  w^ere  rendered  photographically  un- 
fruitful by  the  inclemency  of  the  weather. 


69 


r^^rrm^mmmm: 


PHOrOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 

The  frontispiece  to  this  letter  is  an  extended  view  of  Coniston 
Lake  taken  from  Beacon  Craio-  by  Mr.  Abraham.  It  is  fairly 
characteristic  of  the  Eni^iish  Lakes,  showing-  the  surrounding-  hills, 
the  trees,  the  occasional  house,  and  the  winding  coach  road. 
Coniston  has  been  called  "a  Aliniature  Windermere."  "The  Home 
of  the  Swans,"  also  by  Abraham,  is  on  Windermere,  near  Wray 
Castle,  and  is  a  most  beautiful  photograph,  as  it  seems  to  me. 

The  initial  letter  illustration  is  of  Wythburn  Church,  situated 
on  a  bleak  hillside  about  half  way  between  Windermere  and  Kes- 
wick. It  is  said  to  be  the  smallest  church  edifice  in  England,  and  on 
that  account  is  often  humorously  referred  to  as  "The  Cathedral." 

I  procured  from  Mr.  Abraham  the  excellent  picture  of  "Brant- 
wood,"  which  was  Ruskin's  home  for  so  many  years  at  Coniston; 
and  also  the  view  of  "Rydal  Mount,"  where  Wordsworth  lived  near 
Rydal  Water.  The  Old  Mill  at  Ambleside  is  also  one  of  Abraham's 
artistic  productions,  as  well  as  the  Derwent  Bridge,  showing"  the 
picturesque  lake  cattle  in  the  foreground  with  the  mountains  well 
outlined  in  the  distance.  I  consider  this  a  particularly  fine  ex- 
ample of  landscape  photography. 

But  Mr.  Abraham  has  made  his  greatest  reputation,  perhaps, 
in  photographing  mountains.  We  have  space  left  in  this  letter  for 
but  a  single  illustration  of  mountain  scenery.  If  the  lakes  are  con- 
sidered by  some  as  only  mildly  beautiful,  the  mountains  are  certainly 
very  picturesque  and  impressive.  They  are  wild,  craggy,  and  bar- 
ren; and  while  not  so  very  high  as  measured  from  the  sea  level, 
they,  nevertheless,  rise  so  precipitously  in  many  instances,  from  the 
valleys  and  plains  below,  that  they  create  the  impression  of  being 
much  higher  than  they  really  are.  The  excellent  full  page  picture 
of  "Great  Gable,"  is  a  good  illustration  of  this.  Another  picture 
shows  the  fine  dome  of  Yewbarrow  at  Wast  Water,  which  is  said 
to  be  the  deepest  of  all  the  English  Lakes. 


71 


In   Scotland 


>- 

0) 
Xi 

< 


5LVLNTH   LLTTLR 


IN    SCOTLAND 

E  JOURNEYED  by  rail  from  Keswick,  in 
the  English  Lake  country,  to  Edinburgh,  the 
ca])ital  of  Scotland.  The  rain  which  had 
prevailed  for  the  most  part  in  English  Lake- 
land followed  us  north,  and  continued  for  a 
day  or  two  after  we  arrived  in  bonnie  Scot- 
land. So  we  remained  snugly  established  in 
Midlothian  until  the  skies  brightened  again, 
which  they  shortly  did. 

Then  we  visited  the  ancient  castle  on 
the  hill  overlooking  the    city,    and    photo- 
graphed it ;  drove  about  the  interesting  old 
Abbotsford.  city,  photographing  its  splendid  monuments 

and  its  extensive  public  gardens,  made  snapshots  on  Princes  street, 
and  spent  a  most  delightful  afternoon  at  Holyrood  Palace,  the 
former  residence  of  the  Scottish  Kings. 

The  rooms  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  are  still  preserved  sub- 
stantially as  they  were  used  by  that  ill-fated  Princess ;  so  too  are  the 
apartments  of  Lord  Darnley,  one  of  her  husbands,  and  the  father  of 
King  James  Sixth  of  Scotland,  and  the  first  of  the  royal  house  of 
Stuart  to  reign  over  England.  Here  was  the  scene  of  the  cruel 
nnu'der  of  Rizzio,  the  Italian  favorite  of  Queen  Mary,  and  they 
show  you  the  spot  in  the  vestibule  of  the  audience  chamber  where 
he  expired.  Holyrood  Abbey,  which  adjoins  the  palace,  is  now  a 
picturescjue  ruins,  and  makes  a  ver}--  good  photograph  in  the  soft 
light  of  late  afternoon.  My  picture  shows  the  Castle,  the  Palace, 
and  the  ruins  of  the  Abbey,  with  the  mountain  called  "Arthur's 
Seat"  in  the  background. 

75 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


Holyrood  Palace  and  Arthur's  Seat. 

The  next  day  we  started  on  our  trip  through  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland,  going  first  to  Stirling,  hy  rail,  where  we  saw  the  fine  old 
castle,  memorahle  to  all  readers  of  Scottish  history,  and  particularly 
to  readers  of  that  favorite  of  our  youth,  the  romantic  "Scottish 
Chiefs."  Bv  rail  on  to  Aberfoyle,  where  we  took  coach  for  the 
Trossachs  and  the  world-famous  lochs  and  mountains  of  the  Scot- 
tish Highlands. 

While  wailing  for  the  grooms  to  change  horses  at  Aberfoyle  I 
made  the  pretty  Brig  o'  Forth,  with  Crag  ]\Iohr  for  a  background. 

Now  we  are  in  the  romantic  country  of  Rob  Roy  and  of 
Scott's  ballads  and  historical  romances.  The  coach  road  follows 
in  full  sight  of  the  scenes  and  places  made  classic  and  interesting 
by  the  immortal  works  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  We  see  w^iere  Fitz 
James'  "gallant  gray"  falls  exhausted  in  "the  chase"  which  opens 
'The  Lady  of  the  Lake." 

"Wo  worth  the  chase,  wo  worth  the  day. 
That  cost  thy  life,  my  gallant  gray!" 


76 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


The  Trossachs,  "  Where  Twines  the  Path." 

Then  the  road  passes  on  through  the  famous  Trossachs  "where 
twines  the  path"  to  lovely  Loch  Katrine.  I  give  a  half  page  picture 
of  the  former,  and  though  the  Silver  Strand  in  the  latter  is  now 
partially  submerged  by  the  rising  waters  of  the  lake,  it  made  so 
beautiful  a  picture,  at  its  best,  that  I  procured  a  print  of  it  from  a 

local  shop. 

At  Loch  Katrine  we  leave  the  coach  for  a  pretty  little  lake 
steamer,  and  pass  around  beautifully  wooded  Ellen's  Isle,  to  the 
other  end,  where  we  take  coach  again  and  journey  on  to  picturesque 
Loch  Lomond.  There  we  embark  once  more  on  a  lake  steamer 
and  sail  down  to  Balloch,  amid  the  most  beautiful  and  impressive 
scenery  of  the  Scottish  Highlands,  as  it  seemed  to  me. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  here  as  in  English  Lakeland,  that 
all  these  scenes  are  enhanced  in  the  imagination  of  the  beholder  by 
the  glamor  of  poetry,  roiuance,  and  history,  which  is  so  intimately 
associated  with  them  ;  and  they  cannot  be  judged  apart  from  this  as- 


77 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 


Brig  o'  Forth  and  Crag  Mohr. 


sociation.  The  Trossachs,  for  instance,  are  indeed  truly  beautiful, 
particularly  when  seen,  as  we  saw  them,  on  a  bright  sunny  day,  in 
July,  with  lovely  shadow's  cast  on  the  roadway  by  the  oak  leafage 
which  almost  arches  the  road  in  places.  They  are  not  more  beauti- 
ful, however,  than  the  drive  from  the  Profile  House,  in  the  Fran- 
conia  Notch  of  our  own  \\'hite  Mountains,  down  the  Profile  brook 
valley  to  the  Flume;  nor  are  the  scenes  which  we  pass  in  the  Tros- 
sachs more  interesting  in  themselyes  than  the  Great  Stone  Face  on 
Mt.  Cannon,  the  loyely  'Emerald"  Basin,  the  mysterious  "Pool," 
and  the  remarkable  "Flume,"  at  the  end  of  the  drive. 

At  Inversnaid,  on  Loch  Lomond,  the  light  was  just  right  for 
photographing  the  falls  which  tumble  into  the  loch  at  this  place. 
About  a  mile  from  here  is  the  famous  cave  of  Rob  Roy,  and  further 
down  the  loch,  his  "Prison."  So  we  steam  on  past  lovely  wooded 
isles,  with  vistas  of  dim  mountain  peaks  opening  in  the  distance,  for 
twenty  miles  or  more,  till  we  come  to  Balloch,  at  the  extreme  lower 
end  of  the  lake,  where  we  take  train  for  Glasgow,  and  here  we  re- 
main for  the  night. 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


A  Highland  Cottage. 

The  steamer  trip  from  Glasgow  down  the  interesting  Clyde, 
past  the  vast  shi])ping  of  this,  the  second  city  of  the  United  King- 
dom, is  full  of  pictures.  We  pass  through  the  noted  Crinan  Canal, 
and  on  to  Oban,  where  a  stop  is  made  for  the  next  night. 

The  picture  of  Oban  harbor,  showing  the  yachts  riding  at  their 
anchors,  with  the  pretty  village  itself  in  the  background,  was  made 
at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  while  the  sun  w^as  still  above  the  sea, 
though  near  the  western  horizon.  It  lighted  the  harbor  with  that 
peculiar  golden  illumination  which  is  so  lovely  a  characteristic  of 
this  hour  of  the  day  in  the  far  north.  On  this  evening  the  twilight 
lingered  till  long  after  ten  o'clock.  I  wrote  by  my  window  till  ten, 
without  artificial  light,  and  went  to  bed  while  the  sea  and  sky  were 
still  bright.  Then  the  anchor  lights  of  the  yachts  were  set,  one  l)y 
one,  and  glimmered  across  the  harbor  like  the  first  stars  of  evening. 

The  famous  islands  of  Staffa  and  lona  are  within  a  day's  sail 
of  Oban,  the  former  being  the  site  of  the  celebrated  Fingal's  Cave, 
and  the  latter  contains  the  tombs  of  many  of  the  early  Scottish,  Irish, 
and  Norwegian  Kings. 


79 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 


Oban    Harbor  by  Twilight. 

The  next  day  we  pursue  our  journey  through  the  extensive 
and  very  l^eautiful  Caledonian  Canal  to  Inverness  in  the  extreme 
North  of  Scotland.  Here  we  make  another  stop,  and  the  next  day 
return  by  rail  to  the  interesting  City  of  Edinburgh. 

Edinburgh  is  so  full  of  literary  and  historic  interest,  and  is 
withal  so  beautiful  a  modern  city  that  we  were  extremely  loth  to 
leave  it.  The  New  Town  has  been  growing  and  mellowing  for  a 
hundred  years ;  there  are  memorials  of  the  Old  Town  that  have  been 
aging  for  eight  centuries. 

We  strolled  once  more  along  the  magnificent  Princes  street, 
with  its  extensive  public  gardens  on  one  side,  from  which  rises  the 
lofty  monument  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  Gothic  impressiveness.  This 
majestic  avenue  is  probably  the  most  beautiful  city  street  in  the 
British  Isles,  and  is  alone  worth  a  visit  to  Edinbin"gh. 

And  there  is  the  ancient  castle  in  the  background  "rooted  in  a 
garden,"  as  Stevenson  has  described  it.  "One  of  the  most  satis- 
factory crags  in  nature — a  Bass  rock  upon  dry  land,  rooted  in  a 
garden,  shaken  by  passing  trains,  carrying  a  crown  of  battlements 


80 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 

and  turrets,  and  describing"  its  warlike  shadow  over  the  HveHest  and 
brightest  thoroughfare  of  the  new  town.  It  dominates  the  whole 
countryside  from  water  and  land." 

But  we  have  other  places  of  equal  interest  and  iDcauty  to  visit 
ere  we  leave  Scotland.  There  is  Melrose  Abbey,  |)robably  the  most 
picturesque  ruins  in  the  whole  Island,  to  be  seen,  and  to  them  I 
gladly  devote  a  whole  page.  Then  there  is  Abbotsford  nearby,  the 
stately  home  of  dear  old  Sir  Walter,  and  still  in  possession  of  his 
descendants.  The  initial  letter  illustration  gives  us  a  glimpse  of 
that.  I  visited  and  photographed  also  the  beautiful  old  ruins  of 
Dryburgh  Abbey,  where  Sir  Walter  lies  buried  with  his  kindred, 
and  the  tail-piece  to  this  letter  is  a  pretty  group  of  cottages  at  St. 
Bosw^ell's,  near  this  old  Abbey. 

Though  the  rain  and  dull  weather  interfered  with  our  photo- 
graphing in  Scotland  considerably,  the  climatic  conditions  there  are 
nevertheless  responsible  for  much  of  the  charm  of  Scotch  scenery. 
The  gray  mists  soften  and  suiTuse  the  colors  on  the  hillsides,  and 
give  great  variety  and  beauty  to  the  country  and  the  town.  It  is, 
as  another  has  sympathetically  described  it:  "Grey!  w4iy,  it  is  grey, 
or  grey  and  gold,  or  grey  and  gold  and  blue,  or  grey  and  gold  and 
blue  and  green,  or  grey  and  gold  and  blue  and  green  and  purple, 
according  as  the  heaven  pleases  and  you  choose  your  ground !  But 
take  it  when  it  is  most  sombrely  grey,  where  is  another  such  grey 
city?"* 

And  who,  having  once  seen  the  glory  of  the  wild  Scotch  hills 
when  the  purple  heather  bloom  transfigures  them,  can  ever  forget 
the  transcending  beauty  of  the  scene.  A  little  unsigned  poem  which 
appeared  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  about  the  time  of  our  visit  to 
Scotland  suggests  the  spirit  of  the  landscape  so  faithfully,  its  color 
and  subtle  charm,  that  I  conclude  this  letter  by  repeating  the  stanzas. 

They  are  entitled: — 


*The  City  of  Edinburgh. 

8i 


THL     HLATHLR    HILLS. 

Oh.  llic  slicon  of  ilic  lioatlior  hills,  in  loxcly  splendor  \\\\v^ 
Ai^ainsl  the  far  hhic  sk\lino.  lon^;"  slopes  o\  amethyst. 

Oh.  the  sweep  oi  the  hraeken  fells  where  lonely  cm-lew's  crying- 
(  Vor  (hisk\'  ^reen  and  amber,  and  heather's  purple  mist. 

Oh.  the  lii;ht  on  the  heather  hills,  the  loni;-  rays  softly  fallins;-, 
W  here  whin  and  whortleberry  are  tanLiled  L;'old  and  blue, 

(Ml.  the  L^ra)   and  siKer  i>lo\ers  by  L;ra\   boulders  callini;',  calling;'. 
And  tile  thyme  in  pnri)le  tussocks  with  its  breath  of  hoiicydew. 

(^h,  the  i^eace  <.A  tlie  heather  hills,  like  stairs  to  Heaven  leading", 
W  illi  nauL^ht  between  but  (iod's  blue  sky,  deed's  mi^ht\-  rushing" 
w  ind. 
Oh,  who  could  climb  tlioso  pur])le  heii^hts  and  l;"o  their  way  un- 
heediuL:'. 
\\  itliout  a  ihouuht  (A  new  Lilad  life.  oUl  sorr(nvs  left  behind?' 


Cottages  near  5t.  Boswells. 


82 


English   Cathedrals 


Ll\   Cathedral,  Vest  Tower. 


Canterbury  Cathedral. 


EIGHTH   LLTTLR 


LNGLI5H  CATHEDRALS 


OST  of  the  famous   Eno-lish  Cathedrals  are 
situated  in  the  inland  cities  or  towns  of  Cen- 
tral England,  in  the  east,  between  the  Scot- 
tish Ijorder  and  London;  and  the  principal 
ones  may,   therefore,   very  conveniently  be 
seen  on  the  way  from  Edinburgh,  the  capi- 
tal of  the  North,  to  London,  the  great  me- 
tro])olis  of  the  British  Empire. 
Exeter  Cathedral,   it  is  true,   is  situated   in  the  city  of  that 
name  in  Devonshire,  of  which  it  is  the  capital,  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  England:  and  it  is  distinguished  for  its  magnificent  West 
Front,  which  is  probably  the  most  beautiful  of  all.     Chester  Cathe- 


York  Minster  from  the  City  Wall. 


85 


Durham  Cathedral. 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IN    OLD    EXGLAXD 


.,_,  ■■'■*wi'''  --  ':"-»rrff 


>iy- 


"ibrk  Minster  Towers. 

dral  I  have  already  mentioned  in  a  former  letter,  though  its  picture 
I  reserved  for  this;  and  Canterbur}-  we  saw  and  photographed  on 
our  way  from  Dover,  where  we  disembarked,  on  our  first  trip  to 
London.  :\Iajestic  St.  Paul's  and  beautiful  old  Westminster  will 
be  given  in  the  following  letter  about  London. 

On  our  return  trip  from  Edinburgh  to  London,  after  seeing 
and  photographing  the  lovely  old  ruins  of  ^^lelrose  and  Dryburgh 
we  stopped  first  at  Durham  and  visited  the  fine  old  Norman  cathe- 
dral in  that  interesting  historic  town. 

The  first  structure  was  erected  here  by  the  ]\Ionks  in  the  Tenth 
Century  as  a  resting-place  for  the  remains  of  St.  Cuthbert;  and 
they  were  probably  attracted  to  the  place  by  its  capability  of  de- 


87 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 


Interior  of  Lincoln   Calhedrcil. 

fence,  situated,  as  it  is  most  i^'randlw  on  the  Ini^b,  precipitous  l)anks 
of  the  Wear.  For  this  reason  Durham  has  no  western  i)orta],  and 
in  this  respect  is  unique  among  English  cathedrals.  It  also  has 
nine  altars  which  is  another  uni([ue  feature  of  this  cathedral.  I 
give  a  picture  showing  the  two  noble  eastern  towers. 

From  Durham  we  went  on  to  the  ancient  City  of  York  where 
probably  the  most  impressive  cathedral,  all  things  considered,  is 
located.  Our  initial  letter  illustration  gives  a  distant  view  of  this 
cathedral,  taken  from  the  old  city  wall,  which  is  shown  in  the  fore- 
ground ;  and  the  half  page  picture  shows  the  beautiful  minster  near 
at  hand. 

This  cathedral  is  even  older  than  Dtudiam,  the  earliest  church 
on  this  site  dating  back  to  the  Eighth  Century.  It  is  considered  the 
finest  example  of  the  decorated  style  in  England,  ornament  being 


88 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


York  Minster. 

nowhere  spared,  yet  a  simplicity  obtaining,  which  is  pecuharly 
pleasing.  In  its  original  stained  glass  windows  York  also  excels 
all  other  English  cathedrals;  the  oldest  and  most  beautiful,  the 
"Jesse  Window,"  dating  back  to  about  1200.  The  great  east  win- 
dow is  interesting  owing  to  its  enormous  size,  being  second  in  that 
respect  only  to  the  window  in  Gloucester.  In  this  cathedral,  too, 
in  the  north  transept,  are  the  famous  "Five  Sisters,"  so-called, 
being  five  very  beautiful  old  windows,  each  fifty  feet  high  by  about 
five  feet  in  width. 

Lincoln  Cathedral  was  particularly  interesting  to  us.  In  the 
first  place  it  has  such  a  good  name!  and  then  it  is  probably  the  most 
beautifully  located  cathedral  in  England.  It  crowns  the  hill  on 
which  the  old  citv  was  built,  and  seemed  to  us  to  be  the  finest  church 


89 


Central  Tower  and  North  Transept,  Lincoln  Cathedral, 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 


Chester  Cathedral  trom  the  Churchyard. 

edifice  in  all  of  Great  Britain.  Other  cathedrals  may  equal  or  even 
surpass  Lincoln  in  certain  respects;  hut,  in  the  combination  of  size 
with  delicacy  of  detail,  effectiveness  of  both  exterior  and  interior, 
good  preservation,  with  the  grandeur  of  its  location,  Lincoln  stands 
without  rival.  The  famous  Lincoln  "Imp"  is  here  graven  in  stone, 
about  which  so  many  legends  and  traditions  cluster.  (Jur  full  j^age 
picture  of  Lincoln  shows  the  impressive  Central  Tower,  while  the 
smaller  one  may  give  a  faint  idea,  perhaps,  of  the  beauty  and  deli- 
cacy of  the  interior  structure  and  decoration. 

'  The  Towers  of  Ely  Cathedral  may  be  seen  for  miles,  as  you 
a])proach  it,  because  of  the  flatness  of  the  surrounding  country. 
And  as  you  draw  near,  the  tine  old  trees  in  the  park  about  it  shade 
and  soften  its  impressive  outlines  in  a  most  picturesque  and  satis- 
fying manner.  The  minster  itself  is  of  a  design  unlike  any  other 
in  England.     It  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  imposing,  "the  most 


91 


PHOTOGRAPH JXG    JX    OLD    ENGLAND 

individual,"  as  ]\Irs,  \^an  Rensselaer  says,  and  the  most  varied.  It 
certainly  offers  many  picturesque  subjects  for  the  camera,  in  its 
beautiful  park  setting',  and  many  were  the  pictures  which  T  made 
of  it.  The  castellated  West  Tower,  which  suggests  military  rather 
than  ecclesiastical  architecture,  1  show  in  the  full  page  illustra- 
tion accompanying,  but  T  really  think  the  more  distant  view'  of  the 
cathedral  from  the  park,  rising  as  it  does  above  the  fine  old  Eng- 
lish oaks  surrounding  it,  is  a  better  picture  from  the  pictorial  ])oint 
of  view,  though  it  naturally  shows  less  of  the  minster  itself.  I  like 
to  recall  my  last  view  of  this  inij^osing  old  ])ile  rising  through  the 
trees  to  ihe  fair  summer  sk\'  above  them,  and  the  well-fed  sheep 
browsing  lazily  in  the  shade  of  the  foreground. 

h^rom  l^^ly  we  went  on  to  the  I'niversity  town  of  Caml)ridge  and 
found  this  old  city  not  less  ])icturesque  than  Oxford,  with  which  it 
is  naturally  often  com])ared.  The  Cha])el  of  King's  College  in 
Cambridg-e  is  the  glory  of  the  cit}-  as  it  is  of  the  college,  being  easilv 
the  most  beautiful  ecclesiastical  interior  in  the  kingdom.  Failure 
of  light  made  it  im])ossil)le  to  ]>hotograph  this  line  interior,  though 
we  were  able  to  get  good  views  of  the  famous  "IJacks"  of  Cam- 
bridge, which  are  the  l^eautiful  lawns  and  avenues  l)ehind  the  col- 
leges extending-  to  the  winding  river  Cam. 

Then  on  to  London,  the  ])lace  of  our  beginning,  about  which  T 
shall   write  in  my   final   letter  on  ])hotograi)hing  in   Old    Kngiand. 


92 


London 


Nelson  Monument.  Trafalgar  Square. 


J  J  j_f--»  J 


Houses  of  Parliament. 


NINTH  LLTTLR 


LONDON 


OW  we  are  in  London  once  more. 
Having-  finished  our  tour  through 
rural  England,  Wales,  and  Scot- 
land, we  have  com|)leted  the  circle 
and  have  returned  to  the  place  of 
our  beginning.  London!  What  im- 
]H-essions  of  power  and  of  greatness 
it  makes  upon  the  minds  of  all  who 
come  within  its  immense  sphere  of 
influence.     Capital     of    the    British 

Empire,  it  seems,  in  a  sense,  to  be  the  capital  of  the  civilized  world. 

There  are  a  dozen  Londons  and  each  city  is  pre-eminent  in  itself. 


In  Rotten  Row 


95 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 


Thames  Lmbankment,  from  Hungerford  Bridge. 

Unc  feels  here  the  trenieiulous  ])()\ver  arisini;'  from  the  vast 
accumulation  of  wealth,  typified  by  the  impregnable  walls  of  the 
fortress-like  P>ank  of  England.  Here  is  the  Tower  of  London  which 
grimly  recalls  the  stirring  historical  events  of  an  interesting  Past ; 
and  the  Abbey  at  Westminster,  hallowed  l)y  the  English  dead  that 
rest  within  its  tombs.  Im])ressive  St.  Paul's  looms  large  above  the 
city  dwellings  and  shoi)s,  testifying  to  man's  universal  need  for 
religious  ex])ression,  even  in  the  very  heart  of  the  world's  greatest 
commercial  city.  The  Parliament  Buildings  with  their  ancient  his- 
torical associations ;  the  Thames,  and  its  magnificent  embankment, 
on  which  they  so  grandly  stand ;  the  river's  beautiful  bridges,  and 
its  busy  shipping;  the  markets,  the  public  i)laces,  the  thronging 
thoroughfares ;  all  proclaim  the  great  metropolis. 

Then  there  is  the  Great  Aluseum,  with  the  scarcely  lesser 
museums,  the  libraries,  and  the  art  galleries,  stored  as  they  are 
w'ith  some  of  the  world's  greatest  historical,  literary,  and  art  treas- 
ures; the  Royal  Opera  House,  the  theatres,  and  the  hotels.     Prob- 


96 


pjiotock.m'iiim:  ix  old  England 


Westminster  Abbey. 

ably  iIk'  most  extensive  and  l)est-niana,L;e(l  ra])i(l  transit  system  in 
the  world  is  here,  with  its  more  than  two  hundred  stations  within 
the  city's  limit.  Police  and  Fire  Departments  that  are  ])re-eminent 
in  efficiency.  1  lorse  and  motor  omnibuses  that  take  you  anywhere 
from  everywhere.  Shoi)S  that  are  a  deli.c^ht  (to  the  ladies)  !  And 
a  system  of  ])ublic  parks  and  L^ardens  that  occupies  fully  one-tenth 
the  total  area  of  the  city. 

It  is  good  to  learn  that  the  largest  and  finest  of  these  parks  are 
royal  gifts  to  the  City  of  London  and  its  people,  who  are  allowed 
untrammeled  use  of  them.  Here  the  children  of  the  ])oor  may 
sprawl  on  the  grass  and  play  contentedly,  i  n  the  ponds  and  stream- 
lets, beside  which,  in  the  old  days,  Kings  sauntered,  the  youngsters 
of  the  slums  fish  with  bent  i)ins  or  scoop  with  small  nets  for  stickle- 
backs. 11iere  is  a  delightful  social  suavity  which  knows  no  tyranny 
and  needs  none.  The  rangers  are  the  friends  of  the  ])eople,  and  I 
noticed  one  the  other  day  heli)ing  a  little  kiddie  to  a  patch  where 


97 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 


5t.  Paul's  Cathedral. 

daisies  niii^ht  be  picked  for  daisy  chains,  then  j^uidini;-  another  to  a 
good  fishing  spot.  Some  one  has  said  that  these  parks  alone  are 
sufficient  to  justify  the  institution  of  monarchy. 

The  l)ird  hfe  here  is  glorious.  The  trees  are  all  a-twitter 
with  songsters.  In  the  ponds  and  streams  a  gorgeous  variety  of 
water  fowl  display  themselves — giant  white  pelicans,  black  swans 
from  Australia  and  white  swans  of  England,  all  manner  of  ducks 
and  geese  and  teal.  Children  bring  crunil^s  and  feed  these  birds, 
and  also  the  pigeons,  which  in  consequence  reach  a  bloated  size  and 
are  veritable  aldermen  of  the  pigeon  world.  On  the  meadows  a 
few  sheep  are  pastured  and  help  to  give  a  rural  air  to  the  landscape. 
In  the  larger  parks  deer  are  kept ;  and  there  you  meet  the  only 
"don't"  of  these  places  of  freedom;  the  public  are  asked  not  to  feed 
the  deer,  which  might  suffer  from  mistaken  generosity. 

In  a  recent  interview,  Mr.  John  Burns,  the  laboring  man's 
member  of  parliament,  who  loves  his  London,  speaking  of  its  parks 


98 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


London  Tower  and  Bridge. 


said:  "Look  at  them!  I  am  not  going  to  mention  Battersea  Park 
.first  because  it  is  my  electorate  park,  but  because  from  its  situation 
it  is  at  once  one  of  the  most  l^eautiful  and  the  most  useful.  You 
should  go  on  Saturday  to  see  the  cricket  in  Cattersea  Park,  hun- 
dreds of  little  teams  playing,  all  with  real  good  grass  pitches  to  play 
on.  Now  start  from  here  and  consider  the  number  of  parks,  the 
Embankment  Gardens  first.  Cross  Whitehall  and  you  get  into  St. 
James's  Park.  Through  that  and  past  Buckingham  Palace,  with- 
out a  break  in  the  green  trees,  you  come  to  the  Green  Park.  Trav- 
erse that,  and  by  crossing  one  street  you  reach  Hyde  Park.  Fol- 
low that  on  the  left  hand  side  and  you  come  without  a  break  to 
Kensington  Gardens.  Or  follow  it  on  the  right  and,  with  a  l)rief 
break,  you  reach  Regent's  Park,  and  that  runs  into  Primrose-hill, 
and  there  you  are  quite  close  to  Hampstead  Heath  and  Golder's 
Green ;  and  after  them  the  country.  I  tell  you,  no  city  in  the  world 
has  such  parks."  There  are  no  fewer  than  300  little  squares  of 
park  land  in  London  besides  the  big  parks.  And  even  a  brief 
residence  in  London  convinces  one  that  Mr.  Burns'  contention  that 
it  is  the  cleanest,  the  most  efficiently  administered,  and  the  most 
progressive  city  in  the  world   is   undoubtedly   true.     It   does   not 


99 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 

make  one  less  loval  an  American  to  wish  that  our  own  cities  were 
more  hke  London  in  some  of  these  respects. 

After  photographing-  from  the  tops  of  omnibuses  the  crowded 
streets,  the  pubHc  fountains  and  monuments,  I  strolled  into  some 
of  these  parks  and  found  delightful  suljjects  abounding  there.  The 
grass  lawns  are  allowed  to  grow  to  some  extent  and  so  appear  more 
natural  than  the  closely  cropped  turf.  They  are  of  a  glowing  green 
that  seems  to  be  suffused  with  light,  and  when  I  was  there  they 
were  starred  with  the  English  little  white  daisy,  not  half  the  size 
of  otn-  own.  These  were  in  such  profusion  as  to  make  a  kind  of 
^lilky  \\'ay  on  a  lirmament  of  emerald  green. 

On  another  day  I  followed  on  horseback  the  bridle  path  that 
winds  beneath  the  trees,  from  park  to  park.  The  ecpicstrian  pic- 
ture of  the  writer  with  his  little  riding  companion  which  serves  as 
an  initial  letter  illustration  to  this  article  was  made  in  famous 
Rotten  Row,  bv  the  old  photographer  who  has  made  a  specialty  of 
this  kind  of  photograi)hy.  He  uses  a  plate  camera,  which  he  sets 
up  in  an  advantageous  position,  where  a  good  light  falls  upon  his 
subject,  and  then,  having  previously  foctissed  ni)on  a  spot  in  the 
road  which  he  indicates  to  his  subject,  you  pull  up  }'our  horses,  at 
the  right  j)lace,  he  gives  a  low  whistle,  which  invariably  catches  the 
attention  of  the  animal;  who  raises  his  head,  ])ricks  up  his  ears, 
usually  turns  slightly  toward  the  photographer,  and  the  photog- 
rapher presses  the  bulb. 

On  the  day  previous  he  made  an  excellent  ])icture  of  the  Prince 
of  \\'ales  as  he  rode  by.  He  had  photographed  the  Prince  when  he 
was  a  child  and  when  opportunity  oft'ered  reminded  him  of  the  fact ; 
Prince  George  smiled,  seemed  to  recognize  his  old  photographer 
and  good  naturedly  drew  u])  his  horse  to  a  standstill  for  the  old  man 
to  make  another  and  better  ])icture  of  him.  The  second  photograph 
was  excellent,  catching  His  Royal  Highness  with  the  smile  illumi- 
nating his  face  (the  Prince's  expression  is  habitually  melancholy), 
and  his  splendid  saddle  horse  in  a  most  alert  and  characteristic  at- 
titude. 

lOO 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 

And  now  that  we  have  comi^leted  our  journey  in  Old  England, 
with  the  side  excursions  into  Scotland  and  Wales,  I  am  conscious 
of  the  inadecjuacy  of  my  photographs,  and  particularly  of  my 
sketchily  written  descri|)tions,  to  suggest  the  real  beauty  and  charm 
of  the  i)laces  we  have  visited.  They  were  written  for  the  most 
part  on  the  trips  which  they  describe,  often  at  night,  after  a  full 
day  of  sightseeing  and  photographing,  and  were  intended  as  ex- 
planatory notes  of  the  pictures  which  they  accompany,  rather  than 
as  adequate  written  descriptions  in  themselves.  If  the  letters  and 
the  photographs  recall,  with  pleasure,  similar  journeys  made  by  the 
reader  in  the  past ;  or  if  they  shotild  stimulate  his  desire  to  make 
such  a  trip  in  the  future  (in  case  he  has  not  already  had  such  an  ex- 
perience), I  shall  rest  content.  In  the  latter  even  I  venture  to  con- 
clude with  the  hope  that  the  opportunity  may  come  quickly,  and  that 
it  may  be  attended  by  a  complete  and  entirely  successful  fulfilment. 


lOI 


In  Conclusion 


'M 


■%; 


.^: 


^^S^ 


?i^m 


IN  CONCLUSION 


50ML    PRACTICAL    HINTS    AND    5UGGL5T10N5 
FOR    THE  TOURIST   PHOTOGRAPHLR 


Ann  Hathaway's  Gate. 


FEW^  practical  suggestions,  growing  out  of 
my  experience  with  the  camera  on  the  trips 
which  the  foregoing  letters  describe,  may 
not  be  unwelcomed  by  the  reader  who  is  con- 
templating making  a  similar  journey. 

And  first  I  will  say  a  word  in  regard  to 
the  outfit.  While  I  personally  prefer  glass 
plates  to  films  for  exact  and  deliberate 
photography,  I  must  confess  that  the  perfec- 
tion to  w^iich  the  manufacturers  of  films 
have  brought  their  products,  makes  it  dif- 
ficult for  anyone  to  detect  any  difference  in 
the  quality  of  the  prints  which  are  made  from  film  negatives  from 
those  that  are  made  from  glass. 

Often,  indeed,  there  is  a  pleasant,  soft  quality  that  characterizes 
a  print  from  a  film  negative,  which  is  lacking  in  the  glass  negative 
print.  But  the  convenience  of  the  manipulation,  the  absence  of 
weight,  and  the  portability  of  films,  are  the  chief  considerafions 
which  should  decide  the  tourist  photographer  in  their  favor  over 
glass. 

Then,  too,  I  have  ahvays  advocated  the  use  of  a  tripod  for  most 
photographic  work,  and  I  always  carry  one  on  my  own  trips  with 
the  camera;  but  I  found  comparatively  little  use  for  it  on  the  jour- 
neys described  in  these  letters.  There  are  a  number  of  the  illus- 
trations in  this  book  made  by  timed  exposures  on  a  tripod;  but  I 
found  it  possible  quite  often  to  make  a  timed  picture  by  resting  my 


105 


PHOTOGRAPH IX G    L\    OLD    ENGLAXD 

hand  camera  on  a  conveniently  located  wall,  the  lialustrade  of  a 
bridge,  or  from  a  coach  or  motor  seat;  so  that  the  tripod,  compact 
and  portable  as  it  was,  could,  nevertheless,  very  largely  be  dispensed 
with.  The  convenience  of  a  hand  camera  of  fair  size  (3  1-4  inches 
by  5  1-2  inches)  using-  spool  film,  was  proved  to  me  by  experience 
on  this  trip,  as  never  before. 

I  always  recommend  the  photographer  to  do  his  own  develop- 
ing, and  even  his  ])rinting,  where  possible ;  he  shotild  certainly  per- 
form lK)th  operations  until  he  is  (|uile  ])roficient  in  them;  but  1  know 
from  experience  that  it  is  often  difficult  to  do  these  things  oneself, 
on  a  trip  where  darkrooms  are  infrequent,  and  time  is  limited.  Ar- 
rangements by  the  dealers,  moreover,  for  attending  to  all  these 
matters  for  the  traveling  ])hotographer  are  now  so  complete,  that  I 
personally  took  acKantage  of  them  on  most  occasions,  and  would  ad- 
vise the  touring  amateur  to  do  likewise. 

On  most  of  the  newer  steamers  excellent  facilities  are  now  ])ro- 
vided  for  the  photographer.  The  s])lendid  new  Red  Star  Liner, 
"The  Lapland,"  for  instance,  has  a  well  e(|uipped  darkroom,  just  off 
her  promenade  deck  where  it  is  most  convenient.  It  has  a  red  and 
deep  orange  electric  light  for  non-actinic  illumination,  a  good  sized 
sink,  with  running  water,  capacious  shelves  for  trays,  plateholders, 
etc.,  and  everything  to  make  the  ways  of  the  photographer  easy. 
And  on  the  White  Star  S.  S.  "Canopic,"  returning  from  the  ?^Iedi- 
terranean,  I  found  that  one  of  the  stewards  was  a  pretty  good 
photographer,  and  did  developing  and  printing  for  the  amateurs  on 
shipboard. 

But  there  are  not  many  suita1)le  subjects  for  the  camera,  at  sea. 
In  the  first  place,  the  weather  conditions  are  not  always  advanta- 
geous. There  is  considerable  mist  and  fog  in  the  Xorth  Atlantic,  even 
in  the  summer  time,  and  often  it  rains  real  water,  as  it  did  on  three 
days,  at  least,  of  our  voyage  to  England.  Of  course  there  are  the 
usual  snapshots  of  the  deck  groups,  etc.,  to  be  made  on  bright  days; 
and  occasionally  a  cloud  effect  at  dawn  or  sundown,  which  is  well 
worth  attempting.  The  sea  itself  rarely  makes  an  interesting  photo- 
graph, however,  there  is  too  much  foreground,  or  too  much  sky ;  and 

106 


PHOTOGRAPHING    IX    OLD    ENGLAND 


4 


LJIs) 


Lynmouth. 


withal,  a  certain  dull  monotony  which  it  is  hard  to  avoid,  particularly 
from  a  steamer's  deck,  where  you  are  some  distance  removed  from 
the  sea  below  it 

The  thing-s  which  I  found  most  interesting,  as  subjects,  for  my 
camera,  were  the  seaman,  either  individually  or  in  groups  of  two  or 
three,  at  their  characteristic  occupations,  or  off  duty,  smoking  and 


lo: 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EXGLAXD 

spinning  yarns.  With  a  little  cordage  for  a  background,  and  the 
sea  or  sky  beyond  that,  a  typical,  old  salt,  if  taken  unconsciously, 
makes  a  very  interesting  human  stibject.  There  are  many  strc^igly 
marked  individual  types  to  be  found  on  a  great  Atlantic  liner.  The 
exposure  should  be  instantaneous,  of  coiu'se:  but  the  diaphragm 
should  be  rather  generous — /i6  I  found  on  the  whole  most  suital)le. 

And  this  leads  me  to  the  general  subject  of  exposure,  the  size  of 
the  diaphragm,  etc.,  on  which  I  should  like  to  say  a  few  words.  The 
size  of  the  diaphragm,  and  the  length  of  exposure,  depend,  of 
course,  upon  the  amount  of  light,  the  time  of  day  and  of  the  year, 
and  also  ui)on  the  character  of  the  subject,  whether  it  be  a  dark  or 
light  object,  whelher  the  sun  is  shining  full  ttpon  it,  or  from  one 
side,  and  particularly  whether  it  be  near  a  liody  of  water,  in  which 
case  there  is  usually  considerable  light  added  to  the  subject  by  re- 
flection. 

There  may  be  some  guess  work  re([uired  in  exposing  the  first 
roll  of  films  in  a  foreign  country  b}-  the  beginner;  btit  one  learns  by 
one's  mistakes,  and  the  second  roll  is  very  likely  to  be  more  ac- 
curately ex])osed  than  the  first  one.  I  recommend  that  a  small 
memorandum  book  be  kept  for  the  purpose  of  jotting  down  the  par- 
ticulars of  each  exposure,  as  this  enables  one  to  profit  l)y  one's 
failures,  as  well  as  by  one's  successes.  And  it  is  an  excellent  plan 
to  develop  oneself,  at  least  the  first  roll  of  film,  in  order  to  ascertain 
just  now  correctly  one  is  diaphragming  and  timing  one's  exposures. 

I  fotmd  /i6  to  be  a  good  average  stop  for  the  usual  street  scene 
and  snapshot.  On  a  particularly  bright  day,  between  the  hours  of 
ten  and  three,  jt^z  was  better.  But  with  the  latter  stop,  T  generally 
set  my  shutter  to  expose  in  1-50  of  a  second,  while  with  the  larger 
stop,  I  could  use  i- 100  of  a  second  exposure.  And  when  moving  ob- 
jects were  to  be  photographed,  particularly  on  land,  I  found  I  nat- 
urally got  much  sharper  figures  with  the  latter  exposure.  In  snapshot 
work,  I  usually  set  my  focus  at  100  feet,  as  I  coul^  generally  place 
myself  so  as  to  have  all  the  principal  objects  in  my  picture  fall  be- 
yond that  distance,  and  so  be  in  sufficiently  sharp  focus.  The 
nearer  the  focus,  the  quicker  the  exposure  recpiired  in  order  to  get 

108  i 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    ENGLAXD 


Taken  while  it  Rained. 

an  equally  distinct  image,  so  one  should  try  to  take  near  snapshots 
on  bright  days,  as  near  noon  as  possible,  in  order  that  the  quickest 
exposure  may  be  sufficient. 

For   timed   expostu*es,   a   much   smaller   diaphragm   can,   and 
usually  should,  be  used,  as  thereby  greater  definition  is  obtained,  and 


T09 


PHOTOGRAPHIXG    IX    OLD    EX  GLAND 

the  increase  of  time  given  is  partially  oft'set  by  diminishing  the 
qnantity  of  light  admitted  through  the  lens.  I  usually  stopped 
down  to  /'64  for  my  timed  exposures. 

One  reason  wh}-  so  many  of  the  negatives  made  during  the 
summer  vacation  time  ]3rove  disappointing  is  simply  because  they 
have  too  much  light  and  too  little  shade.  This  is,  in  turn,  largely 
due  to  the  very  common  mistake  of  working  too  near  the  middle  of 
the  day.  During  July  and  August  the  light  from  seven  to  nine  a.  m. 
and  three  to  live  p.  m.  is  so  strong  that  it  only  requires  about  one 
and  one  half  times  the  exposure  of  the  midday  hours.  And  when 
one  takes  into  consideration  the  great  advantage  of  a  moderately 
low-down  sun  in  giving  long  shadows,  the  extra  exposure  time  is 
not  \\orlh  considering  as  a  detrimental  factor.  Moreover,  it  is  in 
the  early  morning  and  late  afternoon  hours  that  we  get  the  best 
atmospheric  effects  due  to  haziness  of  the  air.  The  moral  for  the 
pictorialist  in  August  is  therefore: — avoid  work  l)etween  nine  a.  m. 
and  three  p.  m. 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  size  and 
'^hajX"  of  the  pictures,  the  point  of  view,  and  the  method  of  print- 
ing. Often  the  best  view  of  a  subject  cannot  be  made  when  the 
photograj)her  sees  it  for  the  first  time,  on  account  of  the  direction 
of  the  light.  The  exposure  should  then  be  deferred  until  the  il- 
lumination is  just  right,  so  that  the  best  possible  picture  may  be 
made.  Hand  cameras  are  usually  of  a  shape  that  makes  the  up- 
right picture  seem  most  natural  to  make ;  but  there  are  many  sub- 
jects, in  fact,  I  think  I  may  safely  say  that  most  sulqects,  par- 
ticularly landscapes,  look  much  better  in  a  horizontal  picture.  It 
is  only  necessary  to  turn  the  camera,  and  with  it  the  finder,  in  order 
to  make  the  photograph  in  that  position. 

Study  your  subject  first,  carefully  and  in  detail,  and  then  de- 
cide intelligently  what  pctint  of  view  gives  the  most  pictorial  effect; 
what  lighting,  whether  morning  or  afternoon,  or  late  twilight  is  most 
pleasing  to  the  subject:  and  whether  an  upright  or  a  horizontal 
picture  is  going  to  make  the  best  composition.  Then  make  your 
exposure  deliberately,  under  just  the  conditions   which  you  have 

no 


PHOTOGRAPH IXG    IN    OLD    ENGLAND 


Melrose  Abbey. 

decided  are  the  best  for  this  individual  i)icture,  even  though  it  re- 
quires, as  it  frequently  does,  your  return  to  the  place  on  the  fol- 
lowing day. 

When  the  film  or  plate  is  developed,  and  the  picture  is  made, 
there  is  still  room  for  considerable  improvement  of  your  picture  by 
the  way  it  is  trimmed.  Because  the  negative  is  a  certain  size  and 
shape  is  no  conclusive  reason  wh}'  the  printed  picture  should  be  of 
exactly  the  same  size  and  shape.  Usually  a  little  judicious  trim- 
ming greatly  improves  the  pictorial  effect  of  a  print,  and  some- 
times I  have  found  that  to  ruthlessly  cut  away  a  large  part  of  it, 
makes  an  eft'ective  picture  of  what  was  before  rather  uninteresting 
and  perhaps  not  particularly  well  composed.  I  have  even  found 
that  there  were  two  interesting  smaller  ]Mctures  to  be  found  in  a 
single  larger  one.  The  tail  piece  to  this  chapter,  for  instance,  was 
cut  from  a  larger  picture,  which  was  greatly  improved  thereby,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  gave  the  little  picture  of  London  Cal)s,  which  is 
quite  comi)lete  and  effective  in  itself. 


Ill 


PHOTOGR.irniXu    I.\    OLD    EXCLAXD 

I'liere  is.  of  course,  room  for  all  kinds  of  laslc  in  niakini;  liie 
prim.  ( )f  late  the  fashion  seems  to  he,  if  1  may  use  the  word,  f(»r 
hlack  and  hrown  tones,  and  rather  roui^li  surfaces  on  tlie  prints. 
On  ihe  \\h«>le.  the  ])resent  taste  for  matt  surfaces  seems  to  me  in  he 
an  improvement  over  the  hii^hly  ])olished  print  of  an  earlier  day; 
and  for  most  siihjects,  tlie  dark  l)ro\vn  and  sej)ia  tones  are  well 
ada])ted  to  the  averaj^^e  lan(lscai)e  or  snapshot. 

Alter  suitahly  trimmini^  and  assortiiij.^  your  prints,  nmunt  them 
loosely  on  heavy  sheets  with  liheral  marj^ins:  or.  what  1  j)ersonally 
very  nnich  prefer.  ])reserve  ihem  in  a  suhstantially  Ixtund  alhum. 
with  ijrav  or  >ofi  hrown  timed  leaves. 


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